Legend of the Shadow Lord
by Kitanos
Summary: Time is ever changing, a childhood traumatic encounter changes Naruto's path in life. On the night of the Forbidden Scroll Naruto forgoes the Shadow Clone jutsu, instead choosing a...darker power. Watch the rise of the one they will call the Shadow Lord.
1. The Start Before the Beginning

**Hello, readers of the internet! Here's an idea that has been kicking around my head for about a week that won't leave me. What if Naruto (our favorite blonde underdog) gained the power of control over shadows? Add in a little bonus power from an interesting Light Novel/Manhua called Solo Leveling (Find it, Read it, You'll love it) and we can see some real fun times, hopefully.**

**Review if you enjoyed please, I have the first Arc storyboarded already so expect a dozen or so chapters in the next few weeks. Though this is a 'Prologue' chapter to give a little history to the story, so you can skip this to the real Chapter 1 if you want.**

**I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show!**

XxXxXxX

**_Prologue_**

**_The Start Before the Beginning_**

In the vast multiverse that is the work of Naruto, there are a great many changes both great and small that alter the story of the young titular jinchuuriki. From stories of great mistreatment to alternate realities of godlike powers granted to the young blonde.

However, there is no greater point of change then the fabled Scroll of Seals event. No greater amount of changes has been seen through any other event. Gaining the powers of The Gamer, receiving lost family, new friends or even lovers, obtaining greater strength from alternate heroes, this one event has and always will have the greatest impact on one Uzumaki Naruto both in true canon and a great many fanons in this world.

However, It must be established that this story has changed in the timeline even before the major event of the Scroll of Seals. In a case of 'wrong place, wrong time' our young hero stumbled upon the biggest travesty of Konohagakure.

The aptly named _Uchiha Massacre,_ the cold-hearted slaughter done by a single shinobi of their own family was the blackest mark in Konoha's history since the betrayal of Madara Uchiha himself.

As the story goes, the lone Uchiha Itachi murdered almost every man, woman, and child of the Uchiha clan in a single night. The lone survivor was his younger brother, Sasuke. Yet the boy didn't remain unscathed, for in his pursuit of power Itachi used a dark technique on Sasuke. Severe trauma caused by the technique would forever change young Sasuke into an avenger with a dark desire for revenge.

The story reported of this massacre is quite different from the truth of the matter, but then again what kind of story could this be if it were true?

Nonetheless, this isn't a story of a brooding avenger, a black-haired youth who would sacrifice everything to get his revenge. No, this is about a cheerful blonde who achieves the impossible and unfortunately decided to prank said avenger for an earlier humiliation in the academy.

XxXxXxX

A seven-year-old Naruto had climbed the imposing wall around the Uchiha District, the darkening hours providing shadows for the shinobi in training to put to good use.

'_I'll get that teme for earlier! How dare he humiliate me in front of Sakura-Chan!'_ His ears still burned in anger and embarrassment.

_Earlier that Day, Outside the Academy_

It was the same as any other day really, homeroom, history, weapon practice and finally sparring before the lunch break and jutsu studies to finish the day. It was during this sparring that Naruto received his great embarrassment.

"Kyaaaa! Sasuke-kun is sooo cool!", was the collective swooning call of several young girls gazing admiringly at an equally young black-haired boy. Among them was a pink haired girl with hearts in her eyes sighing as she gazed at the 'man' of her dreams.

'_He looks so coooool! Sasuke-kun is the best!' _She thought excitedly as she and numerous other girls observed the rather one-sided fight.

A dark smug look adjourned the young man, wearing simple white shorts and a dark shirt with his clan's fan-like red and white symbol on the back. He had handily defeated his opponent with little difficulty, though the achievement wasn't as great as his fangirls proclaimed. After all his opponent was the wild and inept Uzumaki Naruto.

"Hahaha, never stood a chance dobe!"

"Like you could ever beat Sasuke-kun! Just give up!"

"Right on his face! Damn, does he even train?!"

Laying on his face, Naruto's ears burned as he heard the jeers of Sasuke's fans and his fellow classmates. Pushing himself up he spat out a bloodied dirt clod onto the ground, that last sucker punch from the stuck up Uchiha having split his lip. He futilely tried to brush the dirt from his white shirt and green shorts, tonight was definitely going to be laundry night now.

"Sasuke is leading 2-0, are you able to continue Naruto?" The question came from a dark-skinned brunette of a man, Naruto's primary teacher Umino Iruka. The scar-faced man looked at the young blonde in concern, it was a solid punch that had knocked the boy down.

Stumbling slightly the blonde gave his sensei a thumbs up, "I'm good sensei! Just watch, I'll smack him down next!" He proclaimed loudly.

Though hesitant at the boy's unsteady form, he lifted his hand anyways. If Naruto wanted to fight anyway, he wouldn't stop it without good reason.

"Begin!" Jumping backward he observed the two in the small sparring ring.

Standing 10 feet apart from each other the two boys stared the other down. Snorting derisively Sasuke decided this farce of a fight was getting way to dull to continue, even though Naruto's proclamation was slightly amusing.

'_As if the Dobe could even lay a single finger on me!' _With that thought fueling him, he dashed forward, readying a fist to knock his opponent out completely.

Naruto readied himself to meet Sasuke's charge, his hands held unsteadily in front of him. Smirking at the uselessness of his opponent's attempts to prepare he suddenly stopped short of the Uzumaki, deftly avoiding the poorly telegraphed preemptive attack sent his way. Sidestepping the punch he threw his right fist out into a haymaker.

Naruto ducked in desperation, feeling the side of Sasuke's fist slide against his hair.

'I did it!' He thought elatedly, only to see stars as a sudden knee to the forehead knocked him back. Sasuke smirked as the boy stumbled back holding his face.

"Give it up dobe, you don't stand a chance." he taunted.

"Grrr, I'll show you teme!" Despite the pain and dizziness from the blow, Naruto charged forward with bloody intent. He was getting a blow in if it killed him!

Quickly getting into Sasuke's personal space he threw a flurry of body shots towards him. Dodging each blow with minimal movement Sasuke waited for the right moment to strike. Seeing the growing frustration on Naruto's face he didn't have to wait long as the rage fuel blonde overextended a kick.

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt a powerful blow to his back, Sasuke having slipped past his straight kick and gotten behind him. The boy stumbled forward, gasping in pain as he struggled to stay up.

Points were only awarded on knockdowns and ring-outs and as long as he stayed up, he was still in this!

Still facing away from Sasuke he decided to do something unorthodox, time for an Uzumaki special! Falling onto his hands suddenly he threw a donkey kick at the Uchiha. Stunned at the sudden movement, Sasuke received a full sandal to the jaw and was thrown back straight onto his ass.

"Point Naruto! The score is 2 to 1 now!" Iruka called out to the stunned class. Turning his stumble into a surprise attack, sometimes the blonde surprised him with his unpredictability.

The rest of the class wasn't so happy about that, particularly the fangirls were quite upset.

"Stupid Naruto! How dare you put your dirty feet on Sasuke-kun!" A certain pink haired kunoichi-in-training cried out, shaking her fists angrily at the blonde.

Flinching at the young girl's rage, Naruto took a step back in fear. _'How are we supposed to spar if I can't hit him? Why are you so angry? I was cool there Sakura-chan!'_ He thought in frustration.

Why does Sasuke get all the attention? People celebrated when anyone else got a hit in, not just Sasuke. But when he gets a shot in everyone berates him! Where's the fairness in that? He'd show them, two more points and he would win!

With renewed confidence in himself, he stood across from a seething Sasuke, who sported a growing bruise on his chin and dirt smeared onto his cheek.

"You won't be getting lucky again dobe, I'm ending this now!" He growled out, barely holding himself from charging to wait for Iruka's signal.

"Wah-Wah-Wah! Keep crying Teme! I can still win!" Pulling his eyelid down he taunted the Uchiha, reveling in the sheer rage he could see in the youth's face.

"Begin!" Once more Iruka gave the signal, readying himself to intervene in case it got too heated. The look on Sasuke's face was not giving him a good feeling.

Without further talking the two boys dashed towards each other, each prepared to beat the other into the dirt. Naruto began by ducking down and throwing a quick uppercut to the Uchiha's already bruised chin. Leaning his head out of the way Sasuke avoided the blow and threw out a snap kick at the boy's shin.

Flinching at the strong blow to his leg Naruto limped away from Sasuke's follow-up hammer punch to his head. Spinning on his good leg he threw a fierce backhand at Sasuke. Ducking below it Sasuke threw his leg out in a sweeping kick, knocking the surprised blonde off his feet and leaving him flipping in mid-air.

Quickly taking advantage of his opponent's vulnerability Sasuke slammed his fists in a double-handed downward smash to send Naruto straight into the ground.

Letting out a silent cry of pain Naruto laid on the ground, the wind knocked out of him from Sasuke's painful combo. He shifted to his back as Iruka called the match and quickly came to check on his student.

"Winner Sasuke! Deep breathes Naruto, it'll pass." He knelt next to the shell-shocked Naruto, watching as his student struggled to regain his breath. After a few moments, he helped Naruto to the sidelines to open the area for the next set of matches.

Naruto looked towards the crowd despondently as Sasuke walked back towards their classmates, quickly getting surrounded by his fangirls.

"Sasuke-kun is so amazing!"

"I knew he'd win, Naruto-baka had to pull a dirty trick just to land a hit!"

"Here Sasuke-kun, you can use my handkerchief to clean your face!" One of his fangirls excitedly offered the cloth to him.

Keeping his calm facade up, Sasuke politely declined the offer and reached into his pocket to grab his own. Cleaning himself up he glanced towards the defeated Uzumaki some distance away. The two met in a glaring contest for a few moments before Sasuke smirked haughtily and turned away, moving to stand towards the edge of the group.

Glaring at the smugness of the Uchiha, Naruto could only shake in silent impotent rage at his situation. He watched as Sakura and others happily followed Sasuke like lovestruck puppies, cooing praises at him along the way.

His pride stinging in his defeat he immediately began plotting his revenge upon the obnoxious boy. He was getting such a pranking tonight! He had more than a few ideas going through his mind at this point.

'_Glitter bomb, maybe… glue and feather bomb with a stink bomb attached..? How about all of the above? He's showing up looking like a glittery chicken tomorrow!' _His revenge filled thoughts comforted him as he sat off to the side, no longer paying attention to the matches.

_Uchiha Compound, that night_

Shaking himself from his sour memories Naruto prowled around the darkened alleys, making his way towards Sasuke's house. Looking around he readjusted his bag of tricks on his shoulder, wondering where any of the stuck-up clan usual members were. Even in these darker hours, they would usually be out and about, the compound being a mini village in its own right.

Shrugging dismissively, he moved on, missing the dark splotches to his left in the shadows of a doorway to a bakery. It was time to get to work, Sasuke wouldn't know what hit him.

A few minutes later just a few hundred feet away from his target, Naruto suddenly stopped, a cold feeling freezing him in place. Unexplained fear and paranoia ran through his body as he frantically looked around himself.

'_What's going on? Where's that feeling coming from?" _He looked around, his shaking form leaning against the gate to the house. Feeling odd wetness under his feet he looked down to see he had stepped into a murky puddle, looking towards its origins he saw a trail go towards the darkness of the house's entrance. He could faintly see a lumpy mass at the base but couldn't really see it clearly.

"A lost little lamb has wondered into the slaughter…", suddenly an ominous voice sounded out above him.

Stumbling away from the voice Naruto looked up at a shadowy figure on the roof, seeing nothing more of their form than a dark cloak and single glowing red eye behind a tiger stripped mask.

"W-w-who are you…?" The child questioned shakily. The figure chuckled darkly, not deigning to answer the boy as he suddenly vanished.

The boy's terror brought on a moment of extreme luck as Naruto fell to the ground and barely avoiding a blow he never saw. A crack was heard as the boy turn and saw the masked man with his fist buried in the wall, right where his head had been.

'_Is he trying to KILL me!?' _He thought in fear as he attempted to crawl away, bloodying himself in the forgotten puddle in his attempt to escape. He ended up bumping into the very man he was crawling away from, his sudden appearance causing the boy to let out a frightened yelp as he quickly began to crawl backward.

Pulling a small blade from his cloak he bared it threateningly at the terrified child. Naruto immediate put his hands up in an attempt to defend himself from the cloaked man.

'_Maybe I should take a limb off… make it easier to get the boy later.'_ The man thought idly, enjoying seeing the terrified spawn of the man he hated squirm in fear. Tilting his head to the side, he paused as a presence made itself known.

"It's time to leave, ANBU will be here soon." A quiet voice called out behind him. Looking at his soon to be protégé the masked man paused in contemplation before turning back to the child.

Naruto could only look on in confusion and fear as a second man appeared, not recognizing the young man in grey ANBU armor but realizing he wasn't here to save him. He watched the masked man seem to contemplate something for a moment before turning back to him.

"Very well." With that he readied the blade, taking his time to creep closer to the boy.

With wide eyes, Naruto threw his hands out in a futile attempt to stop or dodge the blade, only for the man's arm to pass through his guard. He screamed in pain as the blade tore into his face. He quickly grabbed at his wound, rolling on the ground in a pain-filled fervor.

"A parting gift child, don't worry I will come back to visit in time." With that foreboding statement going unheard by the crying child he soon vanished. The second man frowned at the pitiful sight before him, his pacifist nature disturbed by the pain before him.

Sensing the masked man no longer in the area, he quickly threw a small senbon at the boy's neck. Blissfully knocked unconscious from the needle, Naruto finally stilled. Jumping down from the wall he approached the boy and knelt beside him. Adjusting the boy's memories with a jutsu he then sighed faintly as he turned to jump away, quietly praying to Kami to watch over this unfortunate child in the future.

XxXxXxX

Awakening a few days later to a morose Hokage waiting for him, he learned of what he had stumbled upon that night, the entire Uchiha clan had been murdered. Despite his best attempts, he couldn't tell the Hokage much of what he saw, having no clear memories of the night in question.

All he could remember was a dark figure and intense pain, everything else was just a blurry mess of fear and helplessness. A few more minutes of attempted conversation with the boy and the Third Hokage left him to rest, understanding that Naruto needs to come to terms with his new reality.

Naruto lightly brushed his hand against the bandages on the right side of his face, faintly remembering the Hokage explaining the damage done to him. His eye was too damaged to repair, there was nothing but an empty socket left behind now.

Alone in his thoughts Naruto blankly stared off into space, everything was different now. An entire clan was gone, his eye was gone, and he had a foreboding feeling that the man who did this to him would be back in time as well. His fists tightened on his covered legs, a brief flash of determination in his lone eye.

'_I won't be helpless next time… I need to get stronger…' _With this thought running through his mind he leaned back to sleep. He had to work harder from now on, there were real monsters in this world to prepare for.

Though the road to recovery was hard, the boy powered through it with greater ferocity and determination. With greater focus on his studies and even more effort on his physical efforts through the years, the young Uzumaki managed to pull his scores up enough to hit the middle of the class.

Despite his effort though, without any true support from people who could train him properly he couldn't attain the strength he desired.

XxXxXxX

A few short years later, a young Naruto sits upon a swing outside his academy, his form the very definition of dejection. His solitary gaze resting on the ground in despondency at his situation. Though teary-eyed, he wouldn't allow them to fall.

Crying helps no one after all.

'_Why? Why is that stupid jutsu so DAMN difficult?! Why can't I get it right?!' _These thoughts and similar blazed through his mind as he quietly seethed in self-resentment at his failure. The third one in his tenure as an academy student, though this one was his only chance to stay with his age group.

The test to graduate the academy was rather straightforward, a comprehensive written test over shinobi techniques, prudent formulas, and history along with a simple exam of the three most basic jutsu in a shinobi's arsenal. It was the feasibly simplest jutsu that brought his score down to failure.

_Bunshin no Jutsu, _e-rank technique that creates an illusory copy of the user. It wasn't solid, it was rather useless unless one was particularly clever. But in the end, it was his downfall, despite achieving a middling score in the written exam the jutsu portion was the most important aspect of the exam. It was worth two-thirds of the final grade! Why was that even a thing?!

Sighing to himself he looked towards the gathered students and their families, celebrating the milestone the new graduates had achieved.

"I did it! I passed!"

"Fantastic job! I'm making your favorite dinner tonight!"

"I aced the test, it was sooo easy!"

"I'm proud of you son!"

Yet among these happy voices, darker whispers could be heard by the despondent blonde.

"Did you see _him _over there? He didn't pass this time either." A woman whispered irately to her neighbor, both looking distastefully at the young man.

"Good riddance, he should just give up. Why they allow that _boy_ to even attend is beyond me." She responded, a sneer on her face.

"Blasted _Dem_-"

"Quiet! Remember the law!" Quickly interrupting her before she fully broke the Third's law, they quickly walked away with their children in tow.

'_The law again… what the hell are they talking about?' _The boy thought to himself, watching as the crowd soon dispersed as the happy families left to celebrate.

Frowning to himself he readied to leave his spot, time spent wallowing in self-pity was better spent at home. However, upon standing he heard someone land next to him. Looking to his side he saw his sensei, Mizuki, standing there with a somewhat genial smile on his face.

"No luck in passing this time, huh?" Mizuki began, a look of sympathy on his face for the blonde.

"No…" was the despondent reply, "But I'm not giving up! I'll pass for sure next time sensei! Just watch!" He quickly recovered, brashly proclaiming his desires to his teacher.

Mizuki let a smirk alight his face, "Well I think I might have an idea for you to pass _this_ time if you're interested?" The two quickly left the academy's property, Mizuki detailing the special _secret_ exam he could take to finally pass.

XxXxXxX

**So, what do you think? Too much exposition? I know some people rage and tune out on the whole flashback thing, but it's just a nice tool to use in these things. A nice 3500-word prologue to set up some history before we get in the meat of it.**

**I know, not enough shadowy fun, right? It is a prologue so the real fun starts next time. Preemptive answering here, no Naruto isn't getting a Sharingan, Rinnegan, or any other -gan you can think of. That's so overused it's a trope by now.**

**The true first chapter is out along this one, so feel free to hold any comments until then if you like.**

**Review, if you please and I'll see you in the next one.**


	2. Divergence

**Well hello there, dear readers, welcome to the true chapter 1 of my little story here. This is where I release the bigger portion of what has been trapped in my imagination for so long. **

**I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show!**

XxXxXxX

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Divergence**_

Naruto had quickly run home after hearing Mizuki-sensei's extra credit exam for him. It didn't sound _that _hard really. Sneak into the tower, head to the specified records room and sneak out with a big special scroll. After that head to a safe place in the western woods, learn a technique from the scroll and wait to show his results to sensei after nightfall.

All in all, a straightforward exam right up the Uzumaki's alley. Simple and easy to remember, just how he liked it.

Dressing for the occasion in a black long-sleeved shirt, black cloth pants, and a black bandana to hide his nearly florescent blond hair and he was set on that front. He had a small bag with important essentials, rope with a grappling hook, lock picks, glass cutters, plus a few other small tools he could potentially need.

Brushing his hand against the dark cloth eye patch he was using tonight; he locked his apartment and ran off in the direction of the Hokage's Tower. The guards' shift change was happening soon, and from past pranking experience he knew this would be the best time to strike.

Arriving at the tower a few short minutes later, Naruto hid in the shadows of a water tower as the skies turned red around him. His gaze was drawn to a few pairs of shinobi walking out the entrance, the day guards no doubt. They passed by a few fresh-faced replacements, stopping a moment to chat.

Taking this opportunity, the boy quickly jumped to the next building adjacent to the tower. Unfortunately, he couldn't really jump onto the tower from his position, but he could assuredly climb up the side with his supplies.

Glancing around to double check any possible onlookers, he quickly dropped down and ran to the brush-covered side of the Tower upon seeing none. Readying his grappling hook, he aimed for a third story balcony that was on the backside of the tower. A resting/break area the employees or visiting clients could enjoy when desired if he remembered right.

It was also right below the room he needed to break into, which was a bonus in his book. Throwing the hook, he watched as it sailed true and just went over the side. Pulling the rope a few times to ensure a solid hold, he quickly began climbing when satisfied with it. A few moments later the young shinobi was rapidly pulling the dangling rope up and out of sight.

Below a pair of guards rounded the corner just as the rope vanished from their line of sight. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding Naruto quickly moved to the doorway. To his surprise he found the door propped open with a small stone, likely a guard somewhere needed a smoke break too often to need permission.

Hiding the bulkier and now unneeded tools behind a potted plant, he grabbed his lockpicks and flashlight and moved inside. With the waning light from the setting sun, Naruto could see a darkened hallway greeting him. Looking both ways he strained his hearing, listening for any noises of the approaching guard variety.

None heard he proceed to quickly and silently make his way farther down the hall, away from the front of the building and the more likely places the guards would be checking by now. Reaching the stairwell, he quietly opened the door just enough to squeeze in and slowly closed it behind him. With nary a sound, the boy made his way up the stairs to the next floor.

Repeating his earlier actions, Naruto squeezed in through the doorway and looked around himself. A short hallway that went to several side doors and a small lobby at the other end, where nonemergency clients would gather to wait and place their missions. All was dark and quiet on the floor, not a sound or light on in his sight.

Nodding to himself he walked to the middlemost door of the hallway and double checked it to the room number Mizuki had given him. Grinning at the match he quickly checked to ensure the room was truly locked.

'_Maybe my luck will hold out?' _He hoped silently, only to frown when the door held shut.

"Shoot… oh well…" muttering to himself he quickly pulled out his lockpicks, making surprisingly short work of the lock and its tumblers.

"Way too easy," He remarked quietly with a grin, putting his tools away as he slipped into the now unlocked room.

Looking around the room he saw a multitude of shelves holding a great many kinds of scrolls of various importance. A cursory search told him that the overly large scroll he was looking for wasn't directly out in the open, which meant he'd need to hunt it down in the more secure storage closets in the back of the room.

There were four to choose from, each maybe the size of a typical walk-in closet in an average home. Picking the leftmost one he quietly knelt down and picked the lock with minor difficulty.

'_Looks like these locks are more sensitive, more tumblers too.' _The Uzumaki thought idly, patiently picking the lock and slowly opening the door. A click was heard as he turned the flashlight on to quickly check the small room. Frowning at the lack of his target he moved on.

So on and so forth he moved onto the next door, repeating his actions and only causing his frown to grow more as he repeatedly failed to find his target. Growling irately as he finally got to the final door, he took longer in his annoyance as he picked the last lock.

"Of course, it's in the last one I pick," He growled out under his breath. Finally hearing the telltale click of the lock opening he opened the door and immediately saw his goal.

Sitting almost reverently at the back of the small storage room, a large 3-foot scroll sat there. Moving to it Naruto quickly checked around the scroll, trying to strain his limited chakra sensing abilities to see if there were any special traps. Finding none, as far as he could tell, he lightly grabbed the overly-large scroll.

'_Seriously? This is a total academy student exam, there is no way anything actually important is this huge and poorly guarded.' _His brow slightly twitching in mild irritation at the so-called 'secret extra credit exam'. Hefting the scroll onto his shoulder he left the storage closet and quietly made his way back to the room's entrance.

Cracking the door open slightly he looked around the hallway, no doubt the guards were on the way to check this floor in their rounds. Faintly he could hear footsteps approaching from the same stairway he had entered from, but they seemed to be coming from above.

'_Uh-oh, who the hell is coming down?!'_ He quietly panicked and ventured to look out the doorway and seeing no-one in the hallway yet, quickly dashed away to the other end. Slipping quickly into the stairwell by the lobby he managed to close the door just as the opposite stairwell popped open.

Letting out a quiet breath of relief Naruto tried to steady his panicked breathing, hearing his heart beat loudly in his ears he quickly made his way back towards his gear on the outside balcony. Hearing the quiet small talk of the guards farther down the stairwell he grinned triumphantly as he made his way back onto the third floor.

Despite the time he had taken to pick all those locks he had still beat the guards by at least a floor. Just how lax were these guards tonight?

He also got to avoid whoever came from the top floor, probably a janitor or something like that. Getting to the balcony he leaned against the wall under a large window, relaxing for a moment as he quickly tied a strap onto the ends of the large scroll and secured that to the small of his back. Grabbing his bag and his rope he went over to the furthest edge of the balcony's rail right where it met the side of the building.

Deftly tying the rope in the special knot that the academy taught to allow retrieval, he quickly scampered down the rope with a madman's grin on his face. A quick tug and flick of the wrist untied the rope and allowed him to rapidly put it away. Taking a moment to look around the Uzumaki was satisfied with his surroundings and quietly made his way across the small road across from the Tower.

Full of self-satisfaction in his (near) flawless execution, the young shinobi-in-training quickly ran off into the darkening night. Unknown to him a certain grey-haired chunin watched as he ran off to the western forest, grinning to himself he went off to begin the next phase of his plans.

'_Soon I will be long gone from this pathetic village and you'll be dead demon. With the scroll I will be greatly rewarded by Orochimaru-sama!' _With twisted thoughts of child murder and delusions of grandeur running through his dark mind, the chunin vanished from his hiding place and went off to begin spreading the 'good' news.

XxXxXxX

_Western Forest, clearing_

Cheerily setting the large scroll on the ground, Naruto quietly hummed a jaunty tune to himself as he unrolled the scroll. Gazing upon its contents to see just what kind of awesome techniques he could find.

"Let's see… 8-point seal? What use is that?" muttering to himself he pushed the scroll out a few more feet, skipping over a decent chunk of the scroll to find anything actually worth it.

"Kage Bunshin…? Screw that! I hate that damn technique!" Snorting derisively, he moved passed the kinjutsu, screw that entire jutsu tree right in the ear! He skimmed passed it seeing other shadow related techniques until he saw a word that caught his interest.

_Contract_

Contract? Like the summoning contract that let the super powerful shinobi get even more powerful? This was a lot more interesting already!

_Shadow Contract_

_Warning to those who attempt to sign this contract, unlike a summoning with somewhat generalized standards, the shadow contract requires greater unknown sacrifice. Brought in by the Nara clan at the inception of Konohagakure, we were warned to only try to use this in the direst of circumstances. Only attempt when you are truly willing to make the sacrifice requested by the contract summons, whatever it may be._

The writing was aged but clean, most likely a note by the second or first Hokage when the contract was added to the scroll. Naruto scratched the side of his head, beneath the eyepatch as he contemplated the warning. This wasn't really a dire circumstance, but a contract with whatever a shadow could end up being was way better than any technique he could learn in the maybe 2 or 3 hours he had remaining.

Looking below the note he saw a newer slightly scratchy handwritten note at the bottom edge, _after talking to a few of the older Nara clan members, there may be a correlation in the contract and the universal laziness with utter lack of motivation that the clan experiences in all but the direst of situations. Old tall tales that had been passed down for generations spoke of a deal made with a shadowy figure. Deal with some kind of demon? Improbable, but may require future research when time is available._

All this went over the 12-year old's head, not really wanting to think too much more on it the choice. Contracts were a sign of power in this conflict-filled world, even the lowest tier of contracts could prove to be a great boon in the right circumstances.

With that assurance in mind, he looked towards the large strange seal in the center of the section of the scroll, the words 'Shadow Contract' outlining it on either side. A small bit of chakra later and the telltale poof of smoke deposited the scroll into his waiting hands.

"This is gonna be awesome!" Naruto was almost vibrating in excitement as he spun around and untied the much smaller scroll. Maybe a little over a foot long and 2 inches wide, he unfurled the scroll until he spotted the writing.

Unbeknownst to the distracted preteen, the shadows around him suddenly grew darker and somehow seemed to gain ominous movement. Paying no heed to his surrounding the boy looked over the faded signatures he could make out.

"So, a contract uses blood and chakra to make a pact and summon a…summon. How do I do this? Fingerprints and signature, it looks like… I don't have any ink, is that blood?"

Looking closer at the scroll he could see the rusty coloring of the 'ink' making him believe he was accurate in his assessment. Reaching into his bag he grabbed a kunai and set the scroll down, double checking the previous applicants again.

"Alright, the left hand should be fine. Do I need hand signs?" pricking his finger with a slight flinch, a droplet of blood fell onto the blank space of the scroll.

The wind picked up ominously around the clearing as the young academy student looked around in surprise. Rising to his feet he spun quickly, rapidly looking every which way trying to figure out what was happening.

…_new…one…?_

…_perhaps…_

…_requires… approval…_

…_king... coming…_

All around the boy whispers could be heard, no particular direction telling him where the voices were coming from. The shadows around him continued to darken his surrounding until he was in pitch blackness. A shadowy mist was all around him with only a few short feet allowing him to see.

"What the hell is going on?!" He cried out to the voices, brandishing his kunai as a meager form of defense from whatever was happening. He continued to spin around, trying to find an escape but unwilling to try to leave the faintly lit circle he was trapped in. Around him the shadows slowly crept towards a single point, just passed the contract scroll on the ground.

_Relax child… You are in no danger from us…_

A stronger, louder voice spoke from the mass of shadows gathered behind him, causing the boy to jump in place.

"GAAHH!", with a yelp of surprise, Naruto spun back to face the shadowy mass.

He watched in trepidation as the mass compressed towards a singular point, forming a vaguely human figure in front of him. Somehow both solid and gaseous a tall shadowy man was standing in front of him, bright blue energy appearing where a human's eyes would be.

"Wha-what… who a-are you?" Naruto asked shakily, quiet chuckles and glowing eyes narrowed in amusement was his response.

_The Shadow King, young human… do you not know what you have done?_

_You desired power, correct? A contract with the shadows…_

The question bounced around the frightened boy's head for a moment before he gained a sudden burst of determination. _'I can't be scared here! I'm not getting hurt, there's nothing to be afraid of! I wanted this!', _thinking himself back to his typical confidence he stopped his cowering.

"Right… You're right! I want to form a contract with your clan! What do I need to do to earn your allegiance?" With his confidence renewed he spoke to the Shadow's leader.

_Earn…? How refreshing…you humans always demanded yet never asking…_

_To 'earn' the power of shadows you must make a great sacrifice…_

_What are you willing to sacrifice for power…?_

That question gave Naruto pause, just what would he sacrifice? What _could_ he sacrifice to gain the strength of these shadows? He couldn't really come up with anything, he didn't' have much in the manner of material possessions. Or even immaterial possessions for that matter…

"I… don't know… I don't really have anything to give you." He finally admitted after a few minutes of contemplation.

_Hmm… we do not ask for material items as sacrifice… your soul… an emotion… even parts of your very body… those are the last few sacrifices that were accepted…._

Naruto's eyes widened at that revelation, his _soul?_ Who would sacrifice that for power? Just how crazy were people?

_Unappealing sacrifices…? Understandable… perhaps I can offer a solution…?_

"Really? Sure, I guess I can hear you out."

The shadowy figure nodded before lifting a smoky hand in the boy's direction.

_Allow me a moment to read your aura… There may yet be a deal to be made…_

Nodding with a hint a hesitance, the Uzumaki gulped down his nervousness and allowed the shadowy man to continue. A chill went down his spine as the semi-gaseous hand rested on the crown of his head.

_Interesting… so young but to have already experienced such pain…_

The shadow king's eyes seemed to widen for a moment as he detected something particular in the boy's aura.

_I see… there has already been a great sacrifice…_

"What? What do you mean?"

His question remained unanswered as the shadowy being thought in quiet contemplation. Soon he began to squirm in place as the time began to stretch on to uncomfortable lengths.

…_I believe a contract can be made, young one…_

"Whoa really?! What do I hafta do?" The excitement in his voice was nearly palpable.

_Grant the shadows home in your body… your missing eye shall be the source…_

_Sacrifice your solitary existence to always be surrounded by me and my kin… that shall be your contract for power…_

"That… doesn't seem like a sacrifice to me," The boy commented quietly, sacrifice the thing that caused the most turmoil in his life? Looking around he could faintly see vague figures surrounding them, shadows of different sizes and shapes observing them both.

_Only humans would believe a sacrifice must be negative… so long as I deem it appropriate to the power desired…_

_That is all that matters…_

_Do you accept…?_

Reaching out a hand towards the boy, the Shadow King offered it to seal the deal. Naruto only thought about it for a few moments, deciding quickly that it was definitely a sacrifice he wasn't afraid to make. Taking the shadowy hand, he shook it with full confidence.

"I accept! You won't regret this, not a bit-ttebayo!" The jinchuuriki proclaimed in cheerful confidence.

The shadow king's eyes glowed brightly suddenly as the darkness surrounding them quickly became a tornado of darkness. It pulled Naruto into it, suffusing his form in a layer of darkness as he threw his head back in a silent scream. The tornado rose from his body with the tip-focused upon his head, specifically the right empty socket hidden beneath his cloth eyepatch.

Almost as fast as it began it was over, Naruto breathing heavily on his knees as smoky darkness seeped out from his right eye. A faint blue glow could be seen from beneath the cloth, matching the color of the Shadow King's own eyes.

_Welcome to the clan, young shade… rise and remove the cloth…_

"Could have warned me ya know…" Naruto grouched quietly to himself, shakily rising to his feet. The pain was most definitely not expected, nor was the lack of warning appreciated. Reaching up he slowly removed the cloth, his eye widening at the now complete vision he now had.

Yet there was more to it, covering his real eye he focused solely on his new shadowy addition. The dark clearing around them was easily visible, almost as if it were a well-lit night instead of the moonless darkness it truly was.

"Wooow, this is cool!" He remarked in awe as he looked around them.

_There is much potential in that eye… though it is not the full extent of the power I grant…_

_Your will and desires with the proper sacrifice of chakra will allow control over shadows… The only limit will be what you can imagine…_

"How do I do that? Actually, what does that even mean?" he questioned, looking at the Shadow King.

He let out a gasp as the shadowy figure had gained immense clarity in his new eye. No longer a vaguely human shape, he could now see a powerful looking man in pitch black armor. Full-plate armor with sharp edges and slim build and a long-feathered helm covered a largely featureless human-like face with sharp glowing blue eye. The King looked unlike any warrior Naruto had ever seen in any pictures before.

_That is for you to learn, young shade…_

With that said the King held his hand out in a closed fist, an eerie glow coming from between his clenched fingers. After a few moments, he opened his hand and revealed a small black stone the size of his palm covered in faintly glowing purple seals. Tossing it to the slack-jawed Uzumaki, whom barely had the state of mind to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Oi! What the hell do you mean? How am I supposed to figure this out by myself? What the hell is this?! Where the hell are you going?" His questions fell on deaf ears as the King merely raised a hand in farewell, walking into the shadow of a tree and vanishing from sight.

_Create a technique useful in battle and the answers will come… Good luck young shade…._

_The future will be quite eventful very soon…_

With those parting words, the Uzumaki was left alone in the darkness of the clearing. Shaking his fist in anger at the departed King he looked over the stone in his hands.

"Seriously? Do all contracts come with such vague instructions? Whatever, I don't need him. I'll figure this out in no time! Not a problem dattebayo!" With renewed vigor, the young boy immediate got to work trying to manipulate the shadows around him.

XxXxXxX

_Konohagakure_

_Same Time_

As the young Uzumaki was creating his contract with the Shadow King, he had unknowingly created a great commotion in the village itself. All over the village, shinobi rank chunin and above were jumping all around in desperate search for the missing blond.

Just over an hour ago the word had been spread, Uzumaki Naruto had stolen the forbidden scroll of seals. How the boy had even known about the scroll wasn't known, but he had to be found before the scroll was taken from him. The potential situations that this could end in were so vast that no one even cared to think about it, the main focus to find the boy and the scroll.

In the commotion a solitary chunin broke off from traditional search patterns, heading towards the western forest at a quick speed. Mizuki had achieved his goals tonight, all that was left was getting the scroll and perhaps ending the demon once and for all.

However, before he could get too far a voice called out to him from behind.

"Mizuki! Where are you going? We still have another five blocks before we head west!"

Hiding his flinch at being caught running off, Mizuki turned around to see his fellow teacher Iruka landing next to him.

"Right… I don't know what I was thinking. I'm just worried about Uzumaki, you know?" He said through a strained smile, trying to hide his displeasure at the situation.

"I understand, but we have to be thorough in our search," Iruka nodded in understanding, a look of concern on his face "We never know if he could be in the one place we skipped over. C'mon, the sooner we get this done the sooner we can head out west."

With that he patted Mizuki on the shoulder, lightly pulling the man along as he led them back towards their assigned search areas.

'_Damn it! Just a few more seconds and I would have been in the clear. I need to find an opening to get away before someone else gets to the demon!' _Mizuki seethed as he followed alongside Iruka, impatiently trying to find a good place to get away from the diligent chunin.

XxXxXxX

Elsewhere in the Hokage's Tower, an old man in red and white robes sat at his desk with a crystal ball in front of him. His reflection shone back at him from the crystal ball, nothing laid within its crystalline structure. He had activated the special remote viewing technique with the ball, and yet there was no sign of hide nor hair of the missing child.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was working late this evening, the unfortunate result of the happy occasion of a nearly full graduating class from this season's batch of genin hopefuls. An unexpected error from the academy had doubled the amount of work he had to sort through, leaving him to stay at work late and unable to check in on the currently missing child before the situation had even occurred.

Though it was thanks to this event that he had been practically the first to learn of the scroll's vanishing act. A hidden seal had activated upon its removal from its storage pedestal. Though he had been slow to awaken from his impromptu nap by the nagging feeling the seal caused, he had quickly made his way to the floor below. It seemed that in his haste he had inadvertently revealed his incoming towards the scroll's thief. By the time he had arrived at the room, the thief was nowhere in sight.

The timely arrival from a teacher of the academy put him onto the young boy's trail. Mizuki had arrived not thirty minutes later, claiming to have spotted the boy with a large scroll on his back running through the village while out and about. He thought it more prudent to ensure nothing was amiss by checking with his superior before apprehending the child.

The lone failure in the class, the normally cheerful boy would no doubt be upset at his failure. Hiruzen had hoped to find him and perhaps treat him to a few bowls of ramen and a morale-boosting speech. Maybe he could look over the boy's scores, give a few pointers in the right direction.

All that was on the back burner though, in light of Naruto's theft of the forbidden scroll the situation was now very dire. Already he had heard a few mutterings of treason and the only punishment fit for that crime. Though he had ordered him found and brought to him unharmed, he couldn't control his forces' every move. There were plenty of people in the village who saw the boy, not as the hero he was, but the demon he contained.

It was a regret he would carry to the next world, how his misguided attempt at honoring the desires of his late successor for Naruto to be viewed as a hero had instead caused the boy no small amount of pain and adversity.

It was then a stray thought took hold in the Professor's mind. _'i should find Iruka or Mizuki, something about the situation is bothering me.' _Reactivating his remote viewing technique he gazed into the crystal with renewed focus, watching as Mizuki jumped through the trees with a dark look on his face.

XxXxXxX

**So… I had to split the chapter, and this felt like a nice stopping point. I know not everyone like super huge chapters, so I felt 4500 words was enough. Can't toss so much word vomit at my potential readers right?**

**Look up Igris from solo leveling if you want to see the Shadow King, the art style for the shadow characters is the best thing about that manhua.**

**So, love it? hate it? Spot grammatical problems that spoke to your inner grammar Nazi? I do reread these before I post so I hope I'm not missing too many. Pretty sure I have a comma problem… and a run on problem… **

**There's a reason I'm not trying to get paid for this, ya know?**

**Review, if you please and I'll see you in the next one.**


	3. Hero He Always Was

**Yo, readers! How's it going? Next chapter already? Fun times when you have some free time.**

It got brought up that even though he swore to get stronger why did he fail anyways? Because in this story the jutsu section takes up 2/3rds of the actual exam grade. That part ain't sectioned off into three parts, its either pass all three or fail. Hence why he bemoans the unfairness of a single useless jutsu ruining his score.

**I'll probably go back and add a extra paragraph later if its that bothersome to y'all. **

**Anyways, t****his is the end of Naruto's little adventure with the scroll. I'm gonna try to do some better detail compression this go around. I feel like I do a little too much tell and not enough show, catch my drift?**

**Lemme know how I do, yeah?**

**I don't own either Naruto or Solo Leveling, I wonder if anyone even reads these? **

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show!**

XxXxXxX

**_Chapter 2_**

**_The Hero He Always Was_**

XxXxXxX

_Western Forest, clearing_

Young Naruto was working diligently on his newly acquired abilities, oblivious of the great trouble he had caused in his '_exam'_. He had been hard at work for the last few hours, slowly getting a grip on his new powers. His eye glowed brightly in the darkness of the night as he threw his hand out, a few spikes made of shadows bursting from the darkened ground in front of him.

"Yes! Three for three! Finally!" He cheered, doing a little victory dance around the clearing.

…_impressive…_

…_fast…_

He smiled as he tried to decipher the various faint whispers he could hear in the nearby woods. He had gotten used to the disjointed comments from the shadows on his endeavors, having long moved on from being creeped out by the eerie voices whispering in his ear. Turning he gave the multitude of shadows a thumbs up, glad to get some positive reinforcement from somebody. Even if they were just disembodied voices only he could hear.

'_That actually sounds a lot worse than I thought it would…'_ he suddenly thought with a rain cloud overhead, feeling a little depressed for a moment.

Slapping himself on both cheeks with his hands he decided to push forward, why sweat the small stuff now? He had done something much crazier already and he wasn't giving it any extra thought!

"So, what do I call this technique? _Inton: Kuro Sento_ (Shadow Style: Black Spires)? Maybe that's a little too on the nose… huh… I think I'll leave that for later. Let's see what the King meant about this stone." Shrugging his naming predicament away, he pulled the purple rune-covered stone from his pocket and looked it over some more.

Undecipherable marking wrapped around the smooth, flat, black stone. He could faintly feel the same energy he had slowly been growing more proficient within it. It wasn't chakra per se, but some kind of semblance to it. Maybe it was an apt thing to say it was like a shadow of the energy that was chakra?

To use his technique, he had to send chakra to his shadowy eye, where he would then get a burst of this shadow energy to suffuse his body. It was an interesting feeling the first few times, almost as if he had been dunked into ice water and suddenly pulled out to dry in a strong wind. There was an exhilarating amount of power he could feel just below the surface, but his control over it was just as fleeting as his control over his own chakra.

It took grand movements along with very simple images to picture in his mind to manipulate the shadows in front of him. Though the darkened forest had no shortage of shadows for him to practice with, he still had to focus greatly to succeed. He could also feel the sentient shadows around him attempting to give him subtle nudges in the right direction, though he still couldn't hear much from them to be of any real use.

Tossing the stone in the air and catching it he contemplated his situation. More than likely he would gain better control of the shadow energy if he boosted his own chakra control. Not exactly his strong point, but he wasn't one to let that stop him. In addition to that he was relatively certain that as he grew stronger in the shadow arts, he would be better able to hear the voices that whispered to him. Already he was able to hear them more clearly compared to only a few short hours ago.

Catching the stone once more, he decided to try to fill it with shadow energy and see how it went. Focusing chakra to his eye, he felt it soon replaced with the sought-after power. Sending that to the stone yield interesting results, the runes glowed brighter and the stone almost seemed to lighten as well. Adjusting his grip on the stone to better change the flow of energy he felt it give suddenly.

Surprised by the turn of events he almost dropped the stone, only to increase the strength of his grip as he caught it. The stone then dissolved to dust, the glowing runes turning to a bright mist that circled around his head before flowing into the shadows that made up his eye.

"Whoa, that feels weird, what a head rush…" Blinking rapidly at the feeling he looked around wondering what exactly just happened. As the feeling faded, he suddenly saw flashes go past his shadow eye, images of something he could barely keep track of.

It was a technique, a few actually, only he couldn't truly tell what they were.

Was it some kind of graduation present?

Shaking his head to clear the dizziness from the images Naruto focused on his own shadow for once. Grabbing his nearby kunai, he dropped it into his shadow, a small ripple appearing as it slowly slid into the ground and vanished into the darkness. Swiping his hand around on the ground he didn't feel a thing, it was stored safely in his shadow.

Taking a few steps away he reached into his shadow, his desire of receiving the blade just as it was put in going through his mind. Letting out a yelp of pain as he jabbed his palm directly into the tip of the blade, he shook his hand rapidly and glared at his shadow.

"Stupid shadow! Why the hell would I want to grab it blade first!? Give me the damn handle!" he barked out, hesitantly put his unharmed hand into the pool of darkness slowly. Feeling the non-pointed end in his palm he grabbed the blade and pulled it out.

"Better," he groused as he wiped the blood from his hand. Walking over to a tree he decided to try it on the tree's shadow this time. Going through the process once more he channled his new energy into the tree's shadow and slowly pushed the blade into the tree. This was definitely going to be useful in the future.

He soon ran around the clearing, pulling and pushing the blade into numerous shadows. He couldn't pull it out of a different shadow from the one he put it in, but now that he was getting used to the process he was getting much faster. Deciding to show off a little he grabbed few stones and juggled them animatedly, finishing with a flourish as they fell at his feet and vanished into his shadow in a smooth motion.

Grinning he held his hands out, palms together as he will the stones to reappear in the shadows of his hands. All three popped out on demand, giving the Uzumaki a case of the giggles as he gleefully went about another victory dance in the clearing.

"Oh yeah! Who's the man? That's right U-ZU-MA-KI NA-RU-TO! THAT'S WHO! The future most powerful badass shadow wielding Hokage!" His voice echoed around the clearing as he loudly proclaimed his awesomeness to the forest around him.

…_little…brat…_

…_quiet…_

…_trouble… incoming…_

Perking up at the whispers, Naruto looked around suddenly upon hearing a rustling in the forest around him. The nearby brush was moving, no chance it was a shinobi. Any of them would be tree hopping in the forest, especially if they had heard his loud proclamations.

"What is it? Who's there!" he called out, quickly reaching into his shadow and grabbing his kunai to use for defense.

From the brush entered three full-grown wolves, each snarling quietly at the loud child in front of them. Having been attracted by his loud voice and movements, the three had arrived to see a potential meal in front of them. This young one wasn't big enough to feed the full pack, but these three would eat decently enough.

Wolves were opportunity hunters as well after all.

"Great, I think I'd rather have Iruka-sensei show up," He regarded the wolves with trepidation. Though the academy had taught them hunting tactics and they had all killed animals before.

Well, rabbits… trapped in rope snares. Not exactly the hardest kill, but it still counted right? Looking at the wolves he figured this was a great chance to test out his technique.

"Just hold still guys, this will be over soon," he called out softly as he gathered the proper energy and visualized what he wanted. The wolves growled threateningly and inched forwards slowly. Only moments away from pouncing on the boy, he threw his hand forward.

"_Inton: Kuro Sento_!" crying out the technique's name, half a dozen spikes burst from the wolves' very own shadows and pierced all three straight through. Both Naruto and the wolves stood still for a moment before the shadows receded into the ground, each animal slowly slumping to the ground. Waiting for a minute, then two, Naruto finally allowed himself a victory fist pump.

"Oh, hell yeah! _Inton: Kuro Sento_, success!" keeping his celebration to a much quieter level he slowly edged his way over to the corpses.

As he neared, he noticed something odd, each corpse had a faintly glowing black and blue smoky mist rising off of it. It was at this point the images flashed before his eye once more. Stumbling back in the sudden dizziness, he leaned against a nearby tree as he tried to sort what he learned this time.

Looking towards the corpse once more he could hear a single word repeating itself in his mind. Would it really happen? It really didn't seem likely, but he doubted the King would have lied to him with this information.

"**_Arise…" _**

Aiming his hand forward he clenched it into a fist. Suddenly the shadows of the clearing rapidly covered the corpses. Black mist swirled around and prevented him from seeing anything as growling was heard throughout the clearing.

Three shadowy beasts suddenly burst free from the dark misty pools. Each wolf stood at attention before him, eyes glowing an ominous blue as a dark mist and blue energy ran along their forms. Speaking of which each wolf had nearly doubled in size, now coming up to his shoulder at the very least.

His eyes widened at the implications of this technique, there was no reason to believe it wouldn't work on people. But shinobi? It clearly boosted the wolves to greater strength, if he could get a shinobi's shadow, he could have an even deadlier minion then the shinobi could be alive!

"Wait wait wait, I can't get ahead of myself. I'd still have to actually _kill_ a shinobi to get their shadow. I'm still a long way away from that, I still have to pass the exam first!" reaffirming himself of his priorities the boy moved over to inspect his new minions.

Each wolf had been turned into a shadow beast soldier, stronger then they had been alive. Upon closer inspection he saw small blue circles just between their shoulder blades. Maybe the size of his palm, he could tell they marked something but wasn't entirely sure what they symbolized.

Nonetheless, he now had access to 3 powerful allies thanks to his gifted technique _Shadow Extraction_.

"This is way better than a stupid clone jutsu," he remarked with a grin as he lightly patted the shadow beast in front of him. They were a weird amalgamation of corporeal and incorporeal beings cloaked in shadows and blue mists. Yet it's fur was surprisingly soft.

"Pretty badass if I say so myself," He watched as the three seemed to preen under his praise.

"Let's try some stuff out, can you guys hide in my shadow?"

Waving his hand out he willed his shadow to elongate and spread beneath the three shadow beasts. All three quietly sunk down to vanish into his shadow as if they had never been there in the first place.

'_Cool…'_ the boy thought in awe, only to see the leftover corpses of the wolves on the ground.

"Uh, what do I do with these?" He questioned out loud.

_Gift…_

_Us…_

_Yes..?_

Blinking at the shadows' whispering he shrugged, _'alright that could work'_. Kneeling down he brought both his palms to the ground and willed the shadows to spread around and absorb the corpses. They quickly sunk into the shadows, never to be seen again.

_Delicious…_

_Good…boy…_

The shadows around him seemed to quiver in delight, vague shapes around him moving about in appreciation to his 'gift'. Giving them a small grin he nodded before he turned back to his shadow. Faintly he could feel his new pets in there, awaiting his commands. Deciding it was time to experiment a bit more with his newly acquired minions Naruto dived back into training once more.

XxXxXxX

Mizuki was angry.

Iruka was so damn diligent in the search and protocols that he couldn't find a chance to slip away unnoticed. He was a few moments from taking a kunai to the man's eye just to be done with it.

Not that he could actually do that in the middle of the damn village, the thought nonetheless was quite cathartic.

Thankfully, now that they were done with the northern sections they were assigned he could leave to the western forest to _finally_ get to the demon. At this point, he was well over 3 hours behind schedule.

"Alright, I'm going on ahead Iruka…" he announced at last, only to look around and only to find himself alone on the roof.

"Where the hell did he- shit!" believing the worst Mizuki immediately dashed off, cursing himself the whole way. His impatience must have tipped the scarred chunin off or something.

Reaching into his pouch he grabbed a scroll and unsealed two overly large shuriken to place on his back. Thinking again, he also grabbed a small green vial from his pouch as well. He was going to have to deal with this situation quickly before anyone else happened into this and ruined it even more.

XxXxXxX

Umino Iruka was a good shinobi, he had a better than average mission record before he discovered his passion was teaching the future genin of the village. He had always been well respected by his comrades.

He worked hard to help his students achieve their goals both in and out of the academy. Despite all his hard work and his tenure as a chunin instructor over the past decade, he never let his skills go dull.

But it didn't a high skill level to see Mizuki was hiding something. In fact, he wouldn't have thought too much of it if the man wasn't so tense and constantly looking to the west forest. He didn't want to think the worst of his coworker and friend, but with the way things were going, he didn't want to take any chances.

With this reasoning, he managed to find a good moment and slip away from Mizuki while the man begrudgingly searched one of the parks. After 30 minutes of tree jumping the teacher found the missing boy.

Dressed in black he was hard to recognize at first, but Iruka would never miss those telltale whisker marks on his cheeks. The boy was scuffed up and laying on the ground panting heavily, looking for the world like he was exhausted for some reason.

Looking around the clearing he could see more signs of heavy training, deep gouges in trees and the ground. Upturned dirt from hard impacts, even the shed in the background had some damage done to it.

'_Has he been training this entire time?' _Jumping down he landed in front of the boy's panting form.

"Wha- Sensei?! You found me already!?" Sitting up suddenly, Naruto jumped to his feet while pointing animatedly at his sensei.

Not responding at first, Iruka's head grew to comical size and he threw a fist straight into the top of his student's head.

"YOU IDIOT! What do you think you're doing? Do you have ANY idea what kind of trouble you've caused?!"

Letting out a cry of pain and holding his head the boy crouched down while whimpering pitifully.

"Oowww, whyyy sensei? What do you mean?!" Standing up he grabbed the large scroll behind him and did his best to strike a pose, despite his teary eyes.

"I totally pass the secret exam, right? I mean I grabbed the big scroll like I was supposed to, but I didn't learn a jutsu from it … But! I came up with my own jutsu though, that should be, like, bonus points or something, right?" Animatedly waving his hands around, the boy's face a picture of sincerity and innocence.

Iruka could only look at the boy in utter confusion, just what the hell was he talking about? There was no secret exam, no extra credit for graduation.

Either you made it, or you failed.

Before he could really lay into the boy for his curiosity, Iruka's eyes widened as he highly tuned ears picked up the telltale whistling of incoming projectiles. Not even giving himself a chance to dodge he immediately threw a hand out to push the boy away.

Only to be shocked immensely as his student suddenly tackled into him and knocking them both out of the line of fire. The dozen kunai and shuriken flew past them harmlessly as the two laid off to the side.

"Holy shit! You ok Sensei?!" Panting in fear, Naruto thanked the shadows profusely in his mind for the last second warning.

_Careful…_

_Danger…_

"Naru- How did you know about…?" Iruka could only gape at the boy's shocking reflexes, Naruto's reaction speed in battle was always impressive but never _that_ good.

"Wow, I'm a little impressed _boy. _I was expecting to take Iruka out with that at least." Landing on a branch a short distance away was the twistedly grinning Mizuki, a large shuriken in his right hand.

"Mizuki! What the hell are you doing?!" Iruka called out upon standing back up, ensuring Naruto was safely behind him.

"Mizuki-sensei…?" The boy had no small amount of fear in his eye at the dark look on the man's face.

"Give me the scroll Naruto!" The grey-haired chunin demanded suddenly.

"No! Naruto, you need to get it away from here! He can't get the scroll, it could do great damage to the village!" Iruka pleaded with the boy.

Rushing the traitorous shinobi, the two chunin clashed kunai to kunai. Despite the situation, Mizuki grinned cruelly.

"Why lie to the boy, Iruka? It's just one lie after another to the poor _boy _isn't it?"

'_Lies? What is he talking about?" _The boy took a step away in fear and confusion.

"W-what do you mean? What lies?" He stuttered out.

Eyes widening at what Mizuki was implicating, Iruka immediate threw a kick towards Mizuki's inner knee. As the grey-haired chunin dodged to the side, Iruka's eyes widened.

'_Didn't he have two…?'_ He couldn't finish the thought as a series of crashes behind him alerted him to incoming danger. From behind one of Mizuki's oversized shuriken blazed towards him to slash him from his blind spot.

"When did he-!" The instructor could only roll forward in a desperate attempt to dodge, despite his best try though he still felt the blade bite deep into his back forming a long gash from his left hip to right shoulder.

"Gah!" The chunin struggled to stand, only to fall to a knee from pain and a sudden numbness.

'_Poison?!' _

"Sensei!" Naruto cried out, moving towards his fallen teacher only to pause when Mizuki jump in front of his prone form.

Looking out the corner of his eye he saw Mizuki stalk towards the boy. _'Naruto! Run!' _his voice failed him as he shook in place while trying to push himself up.

"Now that he's taken care of… let me fill you in on that little secret, _Demon. _It's the least I could do to help you pass on into the next life!" Mizuki paused 5 feet from the boy, pulling his other shuriken from his back in preparation. Despite himself, Naruto couldn't back away, the answer to one of his most burning questions being dangled in front of him.

Even the impending threat of death wasn't enough to dissuade him.

"What is the secret? What is everyone keeping from me?" He demanded, almost pleadingly towards the chunin.

"A terrible secret dear _boy_, 12 years in the making. Something the third outlawed everyone from talking about in front of anyone not present during that fateful night." It went without saying exactly what night he was referencing. 12 years ago… it could only be one event.

The night the Kyuubi attacked.

"What… what is it?!" Naruto shook in place, a deep growing anxiety eating him inside.

"The secret of what _really _happened that night. The demon fox wasn't killed…. It was sealed into a baby. YOU are that baby, but it was foolish to think a child could contain it. It corrupted you, it took over your body. YOU ARE THE KYUUBI NO KITSUNE!" With a mad grin on his face, he slowly moved forward, spinning his shuriken spinning like a saw blade as he began his attack.

"YOU caused all that death and destruction! YOU killed Iruka's parents! That's the reason why everyone hates you, that's why Iruka HATES you," his grin got even darker as he entered attack distance to the frozen child, "It must hurt to finally realize the truth of you really are but don't worry, it won't hurt for much LONGER!"

With that, the crazed chunin swung his spinning blade at the boy, who remained frozen in place at the horrible news he had just learned.

"NO!" Despite himself, Iruka managed to twist enough to throw a kunai at the traitor. Weakened though Iruka was, Mizuki still had to jump back to avoid it, giving the boy a chance to stumble backward and fall on his ass.

'_I'm the demon… It's all my fault…. That's why they hate me…? Even Iruka?' _He looked towards Iruka in fear, only to see a pained look on the man's face. He was exerting himself greatly just to stay conscious, whatever poison Mizuki had used was clearly taking its toll on the poor man.

"Run Naruto…! You…have to…get away!" It was all he could to struggle those words out, falling onto his face immediately afterward.

'_Sensei!' _The boy could only watch in fear as his teacher fell to the ground completely.

"Damnit Iruka, you are getting to be a thorn in my side. I think I'll take care of you now," with that the man stalked towards the prone chunin.

_Lies… wrong…!_

_Container…not…contained…!_

Naruto could hear the shadows whispering to him, all saying the same thing. _'He's lying….? But… no, I don't have time for that! I need to help Sensei! Even if he hates me… he is still one of my precious people!'_ With memories of Iruka's kindness flashing through his mind, times of ramen together, when he'd be lectured for a prank or any number of times when Iruka showed he cared.

With these thoughts fueling him Naruto blasted forward with righteous anger glowing in his eyes.

Surprised by the sudden maneuver, Mizuki was sent flying a dozen feet thanks to a flying tackle from the boy. As he flipped back to his feet across from the boy, he could see him take a fierce stance with the Forbidden Scroll by his side. His lone eye narrowed in a barely concealed rage with an ominous glow coming from his covered socket.

"Naruto…!" the poisoned man croaked out in surprise.

"Don't even think about touching my sensei! Try that again and I'll kill you!" The boy growled out fiercely, all around them the shadows shifted angrily to match the boy's temper.

"What… what do you think you're doing, _demon_? Why are you protecting someone who hates you?!" He snarled out.

Naruto only glowered at the man, a look of pure rage upon his face as he focused his power. The shadows around them darkened greatly, several deep growls sounding out from around them.

"What…what is this…!?" Mizuki questioned, looking at the menacing figures in the shadows.

"Is this what he learned from the scroll…?" Iruka could only watch in awe as the very darkness around them seemed to react to the boy's anger.

Not deigning to answer the traitor, Naruto swiped his hand out to his side. "**_Come OUT!" _**at his command the growls turned to howls, the shadows around them darkening even more as three sets of glowing eyes appeared surrounding Mizuki.

Letting out a gasp of fear, the man slashed out in a full circle with his shuriken. Each of the shadowy beasts fell apart to smoke around him, causing him to grin in victory.

"That's it?! That's all you got _demon_!?"

Not even batting an eye, Naruto threw his hand out once more. This time he aimed at the chunin, "_Inton: Kuro Sento_!"

From the man's own shadow flew nearly a dozen spikes of darkness, the man barely dodging the fatal spikes to his body. He felt a few catch him in his legs despite his efforts.

Once more the growls could be heard around him, the shadowy mist once more solidifying into the three shadow beasts. Their eyes glowed bright blue in anger for their master, each diving towards the man and biting deeply into his body.

One on each forearm holding him down while the third bit into his shoulder, all together dragging him to his knees from the pain and their combined weight. Mizuki's eyes could only widen in terror, _'But how?! I destroyed these things!?'_, he could only watch in frozen horror as Naruto dashed forward to attack once more.

With the shadow beasts holding his opponent down, Naruto took great advantage and drew his leg back to send the mother of all kicks directly between the man's legs. Letting out a weak almost silent squeak, Mizuki was wholly unprepared for the next series of brutal attacks from the enraged blond.

XxXxXxX

_Hokage Tower_

Hiruzen could only stare in surprise as the _academy student_ pummeled the captured chunin like a punching bag for nearly ten minutes before ceasing. Mizuki laid on the ground a bloodied heap, possibly crippled and definitely unconscious.

Despite the severity of the situation, he let out a small smile when he saw the boy run to his sensei's side in concern. _'That boy never ceases to surprise me… to think he is capable of even using _**_that_**Standing he quickly vacated his office to inform the gathered shinobi outside of the resolved situation and to ensure he had some medics on hand to go retrieve the injured.

Tilting his hat forward to hide his face, his smile turned into a grin, "Naruto-kun, you will go far in this world. I have no doubt about that." With that, he exited outside to see to his forces.

XxXxXxX

_Western Forest_

'_Amazing, just what did you learn Naruto?'_

Iruka could only look at the situation in awe, one of the shadowy beasts Naruto had summoned helping him to lean against the abandoned shed. Naruto assisted as well, fretting over his sensei's condition like a mother hen only to suddenly back away skittishly. The boy looked up at him shyly, a look of trepidation on his face as his sensei rested somewhat comfortably against the shed.

"Naruto… What's wrong?" He was confused by the boy's sudden change.

The boy only looked down forlornly, toeing the ground for a moment he suddenly stiffened. Behind him, the three beasts whimpered quietly before vanishing once more into his shadow. As they vanished, Naruto suddenly bowed deeply, his arms stiff at his side.

"I'm sorry Iruka-sensei! Be-because of me you got hurt… and your parents-" His shoulders shook slightly as he spoke.

Before he could continue, he felt Iruka's hands on his shoulders. Pushing the boy back up he looked him dead in the eye, "No Naruto, none of this is your fault. You aren't to blame for the Kyuubi either, you are the greatest guardian of this village. You aren't the demon, you've held the beast at bay from hurting anyone else for all these years."

At this his eyes turned sad, "I should be the one to apologize… I did blame you at first…. But after I got to be around you more and came to understand you, I started to realize something... you are not the demon you contain. Just a young boy with a heavy burden, who never gives up and always works hard despite the odds. You suffer so much, but power through all the better for it. You are Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure, a hero I should have seen sooner."

Despite himself, Naruto had fat tears rolling down his face as Iruka spoke, sniffling as Iruka gave him a sad smile.

"Naruto, I have a gift for you. Close your eyes for me?" The man requested suddenly.

Confused at the surprise request, he complied nonetheless. Feeling his bandana removed he felt a thicker, somewhat heavier cloth takes its place. As it tightened, he could hear the shadows around him suddenly get excited.

"You can open your eyes now." Hearing that he opened his eyes, only to see the morning sun's rays fall all around Iruka. Highlighting the fact Iruka was missing something he had never seen his sensei without.

His forehead protector…

"Congratulations Naruto, you graduate!" A cheerful smile on his face, he watched as the boy's eyes slowly widened in realization. A smile slowly crept onto the blond's face, soon a full genuine and glowing smile lit his face brighter than the morning sun.

"Iruka-sensei!" diving forward the boy hugged his sensei tightly. Laughing at the boy's reaction, Iruka expertly hid his flinch of pain.

'_Naruto, I know you will do great things in the future. I truly believe you will accomplish your dreams.' _

XxXxXxX

**BOOM… how's that for a chapter? Let me know what ya think, I'm a bit proud how it turned out. I tried to keep it in the spirit of the anime's reveal and outcome, with a little spin of my own added on.**

**Love it? Hate it? Feel free to praise and/or berate me in the reviews!**

**Review, if you please and if you got any suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them.**

**For now, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.**


	4. Growing Ever Stronger

**Hey everyone, here's the next chapter! So, I gotta ask, who has ideas for pairings and powers? I got some lovely ladies in mind but who knows what y'all like? **

**I was thinking Ino or maybe Tenten, or even someone more obscure like Karui.**

**Yeah, it's a bit early, but I got this bad boy out with time to spare. I'll see about another one on Thursday, maybe, whenever it get outta my head anyways.**

**Thanks for any reviews you give, warms my amateur author's heart when I see one. Don't worry about hurting my feelings, I'll only curse you out while crying the corner for an hour- I mean respond like an adult and answer any questions you may have… yeah…that one…**

**I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show! **

**XxXxXxX**

**_Chapter 3_**

**_Growing Ever Stronger_**

_Western forest clearing_

_Morning_

It hadn't been long after Naruto's trouncing of Mizuki that the Hokage and several of his ANBU showed up. It caused Naruto no small amount of anxiety when he was immediately surrounded by a dozen masked shinobi. Calming the panicking child down, Hiruzen had his subordinates take Mizuki to meet a 'nice' interrogator.

A few more would take Iruka off on a stretcher to be treated, armed with the vial of poison the traitorous ninja had used on him. Waving farewell to his injured sensei, Naruto turned to regard his leader with trepidation. Though the elderly man wasn't too particularly angry looking, he was assuredly upset about the damage the boy had done already.

Handing the large scroll of seals to the Hokage, the boy sheepishly laughed and scratched his cloth eye patch nervously.

"Hey, Jiji…"

Hiruzen regarded the boy for a few moments, before he broke out in a surprising smile. Handing the scroll to a nearby ANBU, who promptly vanished, he lightly patted the boy on the head endearingly.

"You did well fighting Mizuki and defending Iruka, my boy. It was an impressive showing. "

Naruto preened under the adulation, before the Hokage's hand increased greatly in strength upon his head.

"Saying that, you and I are going to my office to have a _long _talk, Naruto!" a look of annoyance was on the leader's face, a gleam in his eye that hinted at his punishment to come. Ignoring the now shaking boy, he nodded to his ANBU and they all quickly vacated the clearing.

**XxXxXxX**

_Hokage's Office _

_Morning_

Now at his large desk, the elderly leader eyed the boy seated across from him. He was looking down at his feet, fidgeting in discomfort from the situation. Letting out a sigh, the man known as the Professor removed his trademark hat and leaned forward to address the boy.

"I'm not truly upset with you, Naruto. From what you have told me and what I know of the situation you are not really at fault here. "

Naruto looked up at his grandfather figure in surprise.

"Really?"

"Indeed, you followed the instructions of the man who had helped oversee your trading for the last 5 years. There was no reason to doubt him, you were only following orders as a good shinobi would in the field."

Finding reassurance in the old man's eyes, Naruto sat up straight and smiled slightly. Taking a breath, he looked Hiruzen in the eye and asked the question that had been eating at him all night.

"Was what Mizuki said really true? Do I have the Kyuubi inside me?" The old man's eyes hardened for a moment before he turned to look out the window. Eyes full of regret he answered the boy's question.

"Though the way he revealed it was poor, Mizuki told you the truth I'm afraid. 12 years ago, the powerful Kyuubi no kitsune attacked our village. Nothing we did could stop its rampage, however, the Fourth Hokage came up with an idea. Though unkillable, it was possible to seal it within something.

"The only thing capable of keeping it sealed was a baby, whose undeveloped chakra network could adapt to the demon's energy and maintain a seal. You are the baby chosen for this terrible burden."

The old man turned to look the boy directly in the eye, "Though, I must stress that you are in no way the demon, nor could you become the demon. Such is the strength of the seal that the fourth Hokage sacrificed himself to place on you. It will never be able to escape unless you will it. It is merely contained within you; transforming into what is known as a 'jinchuuriki'."

With his piece said, he once more leaned back into his chair and gave the genin time to understand the situation. Looking down once more the boy's face was unreadable, a storm of emotions in his lone eye.

Nodding slowly the boy pondered his situation. _'Iruka and the shadows were right then… I'm only the container for the Kyuubi... Jinchuuriki… power of human sacrifice…? Maybe this was the sacrifice the King mentioned? I guess now all I need to know is-'_

"What happens now?"

Seeing the boy come to terms with the situation, the Hokage gladly moved onto another topic.

"Well, now that you have received a field promotion from Iruka I will have to wait until next week to see what we will do."

At that, the boy's head tilted quizzically. "What do you mean Jiji?"

"Field promotions aren't quite the same as graduation. As of right now, you are a genin of the village. As such I will need to determine what can be done with you, in regards to the other students who are trying to gain the same status.

"All of your former classmates must take a secondary test to determine their candidacy for genin in service of the village. Once we get the results of those tests, I can come up with a better schedule moving forward. Your training will be primarily with these graduates, but there are several genin teams in active duty that you'll end up training with."

Finishing his explanation, the old man reached to his side draw and grabbed his trusty pipe, lighting it as he watched Naruto mentally go over the situation once more.

Taking a moment to think Naruto looked as his Hokage, "So, I just have to wait out the week then?"

Nodding, the old man let out a small puff of smoke towards the window, "Tomorrow the teams will be assigned, and for the next few days the Jonin Sensei will test them. After I get the results, we can see what can be done with you. At the very least I'll ensure a few of the Jonin will add a fourth for training exercises."

Nodding at that, Naruto suddenly yawned quite a bit. Sheepishly scratching the back of his head, he mumbled an apology to the chuckling Hiruzen.

"For now, we can end it, it seems you need some sleep. Head home today, tomorrow morning I'll have an appointment set up for the picture for your shinobi ID. It'll be on the roof, afterward, you can meet with me again, there's some more I wish to discuss with you." Taking a glance at the submitted schedule for the photographer, Hiruzen made a note for Naruto's appointment before letting the boy know of the appointment time.

Standing up, at last, Naruto let out another long yawn. Nodding sleepily, he turned and left the office shortly, waving goodbye to his Jiji.

Watching the door close, the old man reached into his desk to retrieve a paper. This one would be a message to his Jonin Commander, Nara Shikaku. There was something about the boy's newfound power he wished to discuss with the man before his meeting with Naruto.

"Another long day of work ahead thanks to that boy, eh Minato?" Smiling wistfully, he summoned a chunin messenger to send off his request.

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto found himself alone in the early morning hours of the day, it was maybe 6 if the sun was a good indicator. The main street was empty of people, but he could hear and more importantly smell the rising village.

Scents of forges firing up and bakery's letting loose their delectable smells reached the young shadow wielder's nose.

Reaching down to his growling stomach, the boy turned down a side road to a bakery he favored the last few months. The owner was a retired shinobi from Konoha's ally, Sunagakure. Having gained citizenship here after retirement, the shinobi started up a bakery off the main road selling delicacies hardly sold from outside Kaze no Kuni.

It had gained some decent popularity with the early risers of the village for his trademark 'Breakfast Bread', which was a small loaf of bread with eggs and bacon baked right in. The thought of which made the boy drool slightly and speed up towards his destination.

Arriving at the small bakery, he could see the sign 'Open' proudly on display next to all manner of samples. Entering the shop with the tinkling of a bell he walked to the counter and waited patiently.

"Welcome to Desert's Dessert! What can I get you this fine morning?" From behind a curtain covered doorway arrived the owner. A plain looking middle-aged man with sandy blond hair, wearing white clothes and an apron; the man was the very pictured definition of a baker. In one motion he laid out a pan covered in delicious smelling bread and moved to the counter before regarding the starving boy.

"Ah! Naruto-kun, well isn't this a surprise? I never see you around here so early. Staying out of trouble I hope?" he gave the boy an easygoing smile, leaning on his counter.

"Eh? When am I ever in trouble Ichiro-nii?" The deadpan look from the older man said it all.

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly Naruto let out a nervous laugh, "Nothing bad _this _morning, ok? Gimme a breakfast bread would ya? I need to get home and go to sleep, I've been up all night!" pulling out his wallet from the shadow in his pocket he readied the appropriate amount.

"Uh-huh, whatever you say brat. One breakfast bread coming right up." Regarding the boy with a wry smile, he grabbed the requested food item and bagged it for him.

Getting a sudden idea as he handed over the money, Naruto looked at the man with a questioning gaze.

"Say, nii-san, you used to be a bigshot shinobi, right?"

"You could say that, before I lost the arm, I was a chunin for the outer villages in Suna's territories." Waving the remains of his arm towards the boy, it was gone just past the elbow. He looked to him in curiosity. "What makes you ask?"

"Do you know any good chakra control exercises? I can't get any farther with the leaf exercise, I need something better than that if I want to improve." The boy absently tore into the bread, moaning slightly at the taste. A full breakfast baked right into a bread, absolutely genius if he had to say so himself.

"Well, I do know a few that are probably harder. Aren't you getting a jonin sensei this week? They can probably get you something better suited to your needs." He watched the boy gobble the bread down with a grin, nothing better to a baker then seeing people enjoy your food.

Swallowing the bread Naruto gave the man a pleading look, "I got some…special circumstance goin' on. No idea when I'll get a teacher, so a little help please?" He put his hands together in a begging motion.

Scratching the side of his head, Ichiro shrugged finally. "Well, I guess if that's how it is it won't hurt to give you a few tips. I think I got one that'll help ya out a lot if you know a place with some sand."

Taking a thinking pose the boy tried to come up with any places that had sand, before his eyes shot open and he let out a wide grin. "There's a waterfall next to that huge ravine near the edge of the village, it's like a little beach over there!"

Nodding the man reached under his counter to grab a scroll and ink," Alright, that will work just fine. Might be better too, wet sand is harder to manipulate then dry because of the weight. This is a pretty standard mid-level exercise taught all around in Wind, so it's not really a problem if this gets out anyways," making a hand-seal over the scroll the ink was instantly dried by a burst of wind. Rolling it up deftly with a flick of his wrist he pushed it towards the boy.

Grabbing the offered scroll, Naruto gave the man another grin, "Thanks a bunch, nii-san! I'll be sure to come by after I master it to thank you again!" With that said he ran out the door waving goodbye.

The man let out a small laugh, _'Well, there's my good deed for the day. Now to get ready for the breakfast rush,'_ with that though the man went back to his business.

**XxXxXxX**

Another 15 minutes of walking and eating and the boy finally made it back to his apartment. Unlocking the door, he removed his sandals before walking over to the single bed. Flopping down he let out a drawn-out sigh and wiggled his way out of his clothes.

Now only in his boxers, the exhausted boy quickly covered himself with his bedspread and went to sleep. The events of the night before running through his mind as the shadows around his room shifted comfortingly to block out the morning light.

The newest youngling of the clan was very interesting, if the last night's adventure was any indicator of the future. As such it was their duty to oversee the boy in place of the King who couldn't always be there for him.

_Interesting…boy…yes…?_

_Time…will…tell…_

_For…now… sleep…_

**XxXxXxX**

The sky had turned shades of red and orange when the boy finally awoke from his slumber. Yawning with a wide stretch he stood up and handled his business in the bathroom. Scratching his back, he made his way to his kitchenette and started to heat up some water for a quick ramen dinner.

"Training time after some ramen…" He yawned out half-heartedly.

Waiting for the water to boil, he reached into his shadow and grabbed the control exercise scroll that he had received from the baker. Looking it over he readied the ramen packets and leaned against the kitchen table.

"So, use chakra to create a pillar of sand with your hand?" he scratched his eyepatch idly as he tossed his ramen into the boiling water.

"Make the pillar thinner to up the difficulty, once it gets to a 100 ryō coin's width at standing shoulder height the technique is mastered? That sounds kinda hard actually…" muttering to himself he shrugged before returning to his food preparation.

In short order the food was seasoned and eaten in a few minutes. "Nothing to it, but to do it." He remarked confidently.

Walking over to the corner of the room, he looked into the reflection of his floor length mirror. A scrawny one-eyed blond looked back at him. Removing his eye-patch, he took a closer look at his shadowy eye.

It wasn't a solid eye like he thought it was, more like a void of darkness with a faintly glowing blue iris. A black slit for a pupil and faint black smoky shadows coming from the sides, it made for an intimidating image.

Focusing a little chakra to his eye, he watched as the glow got marginally brighter and the smoke increased slightly giving him a stronger mystique.

"Cool…" he muttered in awe, feeling the shadow energy fill his body as the shadows around his apartment reacted favorably to the power.

_Training… _

_time…_

_Yes…?_

Turning to the darkened corner, Naruto nodded seriously. "Yep, if I won't get a sensei for a while I gotta get started on working on my abilities sooner rather then later. You guys up for trying to help?"

_As… you…_

_Wish…._

Grinning at the faint excitement he could hear in the whispers; Naruto turned to his dresser and grabbed his usual training clothes. Soon dressed in black pants, with a burnt orange jacket over a black t-shirt, the boy grinned at his reflection.

"Looking good, eh?" He struck a few poses, making sure to accent his glowing eye. Holding his hand up he pushed chakra into it to make it glow as the shadows in the room darkened and all he could see was the ominous glow of his eye and readied fist.

_Brat…_

_Quit…playing…_

_With… yourself…_

The shadows muttered behind him disgruntled at his wasting of time. Sticking his tongue out at the vague shapes childishly, Naruto grabbed his ninja pouch and tossed it into his shadow.

"Yeah, whatever. You wish you looked this good!" deciding to put his headband onto his bicep instead of his forehead like was typical, he grabbed his sleeker leather eyepatch and set out his window to go train.

**XxXxXxX**

_Waterfall Abyss_

_Sometime later_

Arriving at his destination, Naruto immediately got to work at his new chakra control exercise. Rereading the scroll once more, he took a moment to try and concentrate on his chakra. Kneeling down onto the beach, he pressed his hand against the soft sand and slowly began to lift his hand forming a small mound of sand.

He grinned happily, only for his slip in concentration to blast the sand from his palm and cause a cloud to cover himself in the grainy substance. Spitting out what got in his mouth he glared lightly at the snickering shadows.

_Too…much…_

_…_

_Ha…_

Muttering dark curses and ignoring his burning cheeks, Naruto once more attempted the exercise. This time he toned down on the chakra and blocked out all distractions and pulled a larger pillar of sand. It was easier to do the wider the sand was, allowing him time to get a grip on the exact amount of chakra he needed to lift the sand. As it got to his chest he paused, feeling the flow of his chakra through the sand as he forced it to stand upright.

"Alright, now I just keep going until I lose control. Then I start from there next…." Affirming himself of his course of action, the boy continued his training dutifully. All around him the shadows watched, giving advice as well as they could and sometimes mocking the boy in goodhearted jest.

**XxXxXxX**

While the jinchuuriki of the leaf was napping and training, Konoha's staunch leader of many years was working hard for the betterment of the Fourth's legacy. Having set up the appointment with his commander at mid-morning, the Hokage grabbed a quick nap in his side office and freshened up to meet the man.

Giving approval to his assistant, the scarred jonin finally entered the office. The tall jonin was rubbing his goatee lazily as he strolled in. Black hair pulled back into a bushy ponytail, shaped much like a pineapple, he was wearing mostly standard jonin attire. As befitting a man of his status, he had a customized jonin vest under a deerskin jacket with a mesh shirt on underneath that.

Bowing in greeting the man sat at the offered chair and patiently waited as the Hokage quickly finished his meal.

"Late night Hokage-sama?" He asked genially, watching the elderly man put his used plate to the side and regard him with a small smile.

"Indeed, Shikaku-san. After retrieving the scroll from young Naruto, there were a great many things that had to be taken care of. Speaking of which, any reports on Mizuki?"

Eyes hardening at the traitor's name Shikaku spoke after a moment, "Not really, he didn't really know a whole lot about his benefactor as we had hoped. He just kept repeating something about shadow demons until we put him under. Gotta say, I didn't know Uzumaki had it in him to thoroughly beat the man so hard. I didn't think the medics were even going to find the man's testicles after that kick." He let out a slight smile in remembrance.

"Well, we have plenty of time to break him. Until then, there were some things I wanted to discuss with you regarding Naruto."

The Nara sat up straighter at the statement, "How can I help, Hokage-sama?"

"What do you know of the Shadow Contract that the Shodaime placed into the Scroll of Seals?" At this question, the Nara clan's leader had a much harder look on his face.

"The contract is the reason the Nara clan is capable of using the shadows as weapons. Don't tell me the boy activated the contract? He made it out alright?" The Nara was worried, the last few members of his clan to attempt a contract with the Shadow King were found wanting in their sacrifices.

The remains after the ritual was not pretty.

"He has, and surprisingly does not seem to come out of the ritual no worse for wear. From what I was able to see from the tail end of his fight with Mizuki, he was aptly skilled in using the shadows of his opponent to attack. He had even summoned some kind of shadow beasts to hold the chunin in place while he beat him down." The Hokage explained to the shocked Nara.

"Summoned shadow beasts…? I've never heard of that before…" This intrigued the Jonin, his clan was only one of the few success stories with the Shadow King's ritual for generations.

"The older generation had a tale about the ritual, upon placing blood on the Contract the Shadow King would be summoned. He requested a sacrifice for his power, if it wasn't good enough, he would make his own request. Refusal would result in death for most people."

Nodding at the tale the Hokage had a grim look on his face, "How did your ancestor achieve his Contract?"

"A long time ago, during the Sage of Six Path's time I believe, my clan's progenitor got his hands on the Contract. The story goes that he had summoned the King of Shadows to create a shinobi clan in the king's honor, a way to help his clan survive during the Warring Clans Era. When the king asked for his desired power, the ability to manipulate our own shadows and the shadows we connect to.

"When the King allowed the man to offer up his sacrifice, he had a stipulation that it would be a sacrifice his family will make for a hundred generations."

The aged Hokage had a thoughtful look on his face as he listened to the Nar's accounting of the story.

"The sacrifice was?" He asked finally.

"An emotional sacrifice, literally. It was something like, 'I shall give up the motivation for action, so not one of my future clan could seek to dominate your power. But I request them to be able to summon their strength when it truly matters.' Something like that anyways, the exact terms have long since been lost to time." Finishing his story with a sigh, the Jonin Commander sat back in his seat and watched his leader's face as he digested the information.

"It certainly brings a new context towards your clan's personality quirks. From what I could see of Naruto, I couldn't detect any changes in his personality. I'm rather unsure of what price he paid to gain his powers, nor to the extent, he had gained them." The elderly man stroked his beard in thought.

The two men would continue their discussion for some time, trying to come up with a method to help the young genin with his newfound abilities.

**XxXxXxX**

The next day found Uzumaki Naruto waking up rather early. After working hard into the late hours of the night, the boy had eventually achieved a satisfactory stopping point in his training and went home for the night.

Having a filling breakfast, Naruto prepared for the day. Dressing in clean clothes similar to his outfit from the day before, he met the photographer and got his picture taken. Walking down into the building proper, he entered the lobby and let the Hokage's assistant know about his appointment and waited while the young chunin alerted the leader.

A few minutes later he received a signal to enter, with a wave to the assistant he walked into the old man's office. Seeing the man by himself in the room, Naruto walked up and handed him the registration form the photographer had given him with his picture.

Seeing the young man's 'serious' pose with his arms crossed and giving the camera stare down worthy of a bingo book, he couldn't help but smile. The boy's general demeanor and eye patch gave him a surprisingly mature picture, he had honestly half expected the boy to make a spectacle of himself.

"Nice picture Naruto-kun, this will be the first things a client would see of you when missions are being delegated. Better to have a serious first impression than most anything else, civilians tend to like the 'shinobi mystique' when they pick guards." Having a seat, the young shinobi grinned while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"I thought about a whole bunch of poses, but I felt this would work the best. Like someone out of an action movie, right? I've seen jonin around the village act like that before when they pick up clients, so I thought it'd be a good idea." The Hokage nodded in understanding at the boys reasoning, there was nothing wrong with trying to emulate the elite of the village. In some aspects anyway… a few jonin came to mind as poor examples.

"Well, that aside, I wanted to talk to you about your new abilities you gained from the scroll." Looking at the boy seriously, he saw the boy straighten up in his seat.

Nodding at the Hokage Naruto spoke up, "The Shadow Contract, right?" seeing the old man nod in confirmation, he continued.

"Well, the Shadow King gave me a contract. As long as I sacrifice chakra to my shadow eye..." He explained the best he could with the aged shinobi nodding along as he continued his story.

"I see… quite the useful ability you have acquired my boy. I'm sure it will take you far in this world when you master it. I spoke with the Nara clan head, Shikaku about your possible training. His clan is well renowned for their use of shadow themed jutsu. Though, from what you told me you don't really use hand-seals correct?", at the boy's nod, he continued.

"If that's the case they won't be able to do much more than assist you in the process of understanding the shadows. They won't disclose any clan techniques, but they have assured me they will help the best they can. Sometime next week you should head to the Nara compound for training."

Naruto had a look of surprise at that, he vaguely remembered hearing from Shikamaru of his clan's special jutsu. They might be able to help him figure out how to do some of his more unique ideas he had bouncing around.

Giving his grandfather figure a grateful nod, "That's great Jiji!"

Giving the boy a grandfatherly smile, he reached into his desk and gave the boy a small scroll he pulled from it.

"Here's a general workout regime, typically genin are given this on team assignment but since you have some time, I wanted to make sure you would be able to get ready for next week."

Looking over the scroll, it looked simple enough with detailed instructions and rough sketches of various exercises. He could totally work with this, "Thanks Jiji. I'll get through this no problem, no doubt I'll be chunin in no time!"

The old man let out a few chuckles at the boy's confidence, _'Oh, the power of youthful exuberance. When the world is all yours for the taking…'_The leader thought wistfully, shaking his head at the boy's declaration.

"That's all for now, Naruto-kun. You may head out." he dismissed the boy with a wave.

"Gotcha Jiji, I'll see you later." Standing, the boy walked off while dismissively tossing his scroll into the shadow of his pocket.

Quirking a brow at the vanishing scroll, Hiruzen could only shake his head at the mysterious abilities the young genin had gained. There really was great potential in the boy's new capabilities.

**XxXxXxX**

Arriving outside the Hokage's tower, Naruto stretched and breathed in deeply at finally getting some fresh air. That conversation had taken quite a long time, it was almost lunch time at this point. Walking down the road the boy contemplated his next course of action, seeing numerous genin walking around. The academy was right next to the Hokage's Tower after all, so it made sense that so many were wondering about.

_'Looks like the teams let out for lunch, I wonder who got assigned who?' _he saw some of his classmates walk off in groups of twos and threes, some left alone as well. Shrugging dismissively, he walked passed them all, _'Oh well, I'll find out who I'll be training with next week. For now, lunch then more training.'_

Nodding at his desired schedule, the shadow wielder jumped off to grab lunch. Five minutes later he found himself at his favorite noodle shop.

"Yo! Can I get a large miso ramen?" He called out, having a seat on one of the center stools.

Behind the counter a middle-aged man with grey hair and squinted eyes let out a friendly laugh, "You got it Naruto-kun! Hey Ayame, grab the kid a drink." He called out to the back room.

"Ok, father!" was the response from the back as a young woman with reddish-brown hair in similar clothes to the man and a white bandana, soon appearing with a cup and a tea kettle. Setting it down in front of the boy, she poured him a drink as she smiled at him and leaned against the counter.

"How's it going Naruto-kun? It's been a while." She struck up a conversation as the boy sipped his tea.

"Well, I got mixed up in some stuff that was really weird…but, I graduated!" He thumbed the headband on his left bicep, proudly shining in the midday light.

Eyes widening at the metallic symbol, Ayame clapped happily and quickly ran around to hug the graduate, "Good job, Naruto-kun! You hear that dad, I told you he would pass!"

The man soon appeared, holding the bowl of noodle goodness, "Would you look at that! I knew you could do it Naruto! How about we give the newest shinobi a few bowls on the house in celebration, eh?" placing the bowl in front of the genin, he smiled proudly.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, "Really? Awesome! How about a beef and shrimp next then?" he called out merrily.

"You got it!"

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto's week played out quite the same schedule-wise, training himself to best he could according to the scroll the Hokage had given him. In addition to that, he would work on his chakra control with the sand pillar training, then spend the darker hours of the night working on his shadow techniques.

Working himself into the dirt every day, the genin worked tirelessly in bettering himself until the weekend. It was Saturday night that he got an unexpected visitor during his night training.

_Hard at work young shade…?_

Naruto quickly spun around in surprise, seeing the Shadow King in all his shadowy glory at the edge of his training clearing. Doing his best to calm his shaken heart, he calmed and finally smiled at the King.

"Ah, you scared me again! You're way too sneaky you know that? And that's coming from a ninja!" he walked over to stand in front of the King.

_One day you too will be capable of moving with the stealth of a shadow young shade…_

_I've come to check on your progress, I hear your time has been eventful…_

Nodding at the King, Naruto thought back to that night. A whole lot had changed because of that night, though he wouldn't say he was regretful.

"Yeah, that was a tough night. Thanks a lot for the contract, there's no telling what would have happened without you." He bowed slightly at the King, knowing he owed a lot to the being's help

_You summoned me; I merely provided the contracted power…_

_Have you come up with any more techniques since then…?_

Giving the shadowy man a smirk, he nodded proudly, "I got two more or less figured out. Well, they're not both attacks, ones a supplementary technique for movement and one for ranged combat." Moving to the side the boy activated his first new jutsu.

"_Inton: Vanishing Step!_"

His shadow energy pulled the shadows toward his feet, each step causing a small burst of shadow to propel him forward at surprising speeds. He dashed all around the clearing, a blur to the naked eye. Turning at 90-degree angles, bounding about in all manner of unpredictable angles he eventually stopped in front of the King once more. He still had much to learn on that one, if his stumbling stop in fron of the king was any indication.

"Heh.. still got some kinks to work out for that, zooming around is easy, its the stops and turns that are hard." he grinned nervously at the King. The armored king only nodded simply, lightly patting the boy on the head.

_All it takes is time... experience brings proficiency after all..._

_Nonetheless, excellent use of your own shadow for movement… the second technique…?_

Smiling at the praise Naruto focused once more, he backed away and threw his hand out, **"_Come out!"_**

His shadow stretched out once more, his beasts rising from the darkness with howls. Standing before their Lord and the King, they awaited orders. Nodding once more, Naruto took a deep breath before activating his next technique.

One of his wolves vanished to his side, forming a smoky mist that surrounded his right arm. With a burst of speed, he threw his fist forward, a loud _crack_ was heard as his shadow beast projectile embedded into the tree, before even more crackling was heard as the shadow beast burrowed inside the tree. Soon it burst out the other side, the wolf landed gracefully as the tree crashed to the ground.

The King narrowed his eyes as he regarded the damage done to the tree, an equally clever use of the shadow beast's transformative abilities.

_Quite a dangerous technique… it would quite disastrous if an opponent would be hit by that…_

Naruto nodded with his arms crossed, his eye glowing brightly in the darkness. "_Inton: Shadow Beast Blast…_Yeah, I needed a decent utility ranged attack, I thought it'd be a good defense breaker when kunai and shuriken won't cut it. I've seen some of the chunin and jonin practice defense techniques, this should let me surprise them and get one of my shadow beasts in position at the same time." That one was actually easier then it looked, the shadow beast doing most of the work, with him providing the direction and propulsion.

The King nodded at his reasoning; it was good to make use of the allies he had gained. The better he used them in combat, the stronger they all would get.

_Continue as you are, and you will become even stronger…_

_I'll come back in a month's time to see you again…_

_Should you impress me once more, I shall gift you a weapon of the clan…. _

"Oooh... I guess I'll look forward to it then." He smirked at the prospect; a free weapon sounds pretty awesome to him.

Nodding at the boy, the King turned and vanished from the clearing. Waving at the King's departure, Naruto turned and continued his training. Now that he had a few more techniques under his belt, it was time to make sure his other shinobi skills got up to snuff.

**XxXxXxX**

**There we go, a bit of longer chapter with some filler. A bit of growth for the young Uzumaki, good times all around. Next time we find out who got teamed with who, maybe canon maybe not, who knows? Meanwhile, Naruto is getting more in touch with the shadows, gaining strength and coming up with ideas.**

**How is Shikamaru gonna react when he sees Naruto bust out some shadow skills? Maybe it'll just be too troublesome to care about? Let's find out together, eh?**

**As always, feel free to drop a review let me know what you think. Also, any ideas for a pairing? I mean our boy is only 12 so don't expect intense romance or stuff like that. It's a little ick for me to have to think through the scenarios like that for 12-year-olds. Maybe when he gets a bit closer to Shippuden age? (No Sakura though, I really don't like that pairing)**

**Yeah, couldn't find a decent translator for the jutsu. Anyone get me those jutsu in a somewhat decent sounding Japanese and I'll switch them out. For now, I'll switch to English, probably easier that way huh?**

**Thanks for reading, I'll see you guys next time.**


	5. Joining the Team

**Yo! Well here it is folks, things getting more interesting now! Let's get some team bonding going!**

**I appreciate all the reviews, especially the neat ideas and provoking questions. Don't be afraid to point out my flaws, I'd like to get better as a writer as well, ya know?**

**I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show! **

**XxXxXxX**

_**Chapter 4**_

_**Joining the Team**_

_Hokage's Tower, Mission Dispatch Room_

_Monday Morning_

The fated day had finally arrived. Having received a call from the Hokage, Naruto showed up this fine morning in excitement. The genin teams had finally solidified, though the boy heard only 3 of the program's 10 or so teams had actually passed the secondary test.

The rest would either quit the program or retake the test in another 6 months. Didn't really matter to him though, he'd be working with the graduates mostly. Once he got some better training and gained experience he would go work with other active shinobi squads.

The young Uzumaki was leaning against the mission dispatch counter, thinking over what he had managed to learn over his past week of training. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled a small notebook from the shadow storage he had contained within.

'_Let's see here…' _Taking a pencil from the binding he checked over his notes once more, _'#1: Shadow extraction isn't 100% guaranteed to work, plus there's some kind of limit on the number of attempts I can have on a single corpse…' _

The boy thought back to the large bear he had stumbled upon the other day. At the edge of one of the training grounds, the one with the huge fence if he remembered correctly, it had been thoroughly killed by kunai and left for the scavengers. It seemed time had an effect of his _Shadow Extraction_ since the dark shadowy mist and faint blue energy that he could normally see was nearly gone by the time he found the bear.

'_Time limit, I guess? I called out three times and the shadow markers vanished, so there's a limit to attempts as well. Maybe I have to kill it myself? Gotta figure it out more, maybe go hunting this week after training.'_

Next on the list was #2, the regeneration of his shadow beasts. The fight against Mizuki showed him something important, his chakra was automatically pulled into his eye to get enough energy to repair the shadow beasts.

'_Gotta keep an eye on that, running out of chakra in the middle of a fight could definitely be a big problem…'_ making a note in the margin for the observations, the boy decided it was a good idea to continue his chakra training after all. He needed more shinobi jutsu though, the chakra sacrificed for shadow jutsu didn't seem to be the same as using up chakra for a jutsu.

He couldn't really _feel _his chakra stores growing any, if at all, as when he used to work himself to near chakra exhaustion his larger than normal chakra reserves meant it wasn't a _huge _problem for now.

'_Let's see… #3, shadow beasts are a lot more versatile then I thought.' _That one was a fun discovery, while he was testing out the extent of usefulness of his shadow beasts, he had learned some interesting things.

They could move away from him at no distance restriction and could follow simple instruction no problem. He actually didn't need to say anything, there seemed to be some kind of mental link between him and his beasts that allowed for unspoken orders.

They could also hide in other shadows, as he had learned in some experimentation. Using the shadow of a kunai he had one store itself inside. Throwing it some distance, he had it burst out and attack a straw dummy he had made. No doubt an oversized demonic looking shadow wolf bursting out from a kunai would scare the hell of anyone he fought, the possibilities for it were mind-boggling.

Naruto was giggling to himself in excitement, leading the Hokage and Iruka to give the boy odd looks as they sorted through the missions. Ignoring them he continued to look over his notes some more. The sand pillar training was pretty good for his control, he had actually recently been working on something he had stumbled upon by accident.

He had decided to try lifting some of the other stones near the shore, seeing if it could work with the same concept for sand. He had inadvertently gotten stuck on large flat stone instead, discovering the adhesive properties of chakra. Wanting to figure out the extent of that aspect, he ended up trying to free climb the nearby cliff face with decent results.

'_I wonder where else I can push the chakra too? Maybe to my feet too? That'd be cool, I'd double my climbing speed without having to worry about hand and foot holds!' _It was a cool thought, maybe he could go even farther than that and just run around with his feet only?

Something to think on later, since the double doors to the mission distribution center opened at last. The first to arrive was a female jonin, dressed in some outfit/dress that seemed to be oversized bandages with a black thorn design on them and a single red sleeve on her right arm. Long, black unruly hair behind her forehead protector and piercing crimson eyes, she stood out as quite the looker.

Behind her were three of his classmates, the first being the spiky brown-haired Aburame Shino in his typical face covering pale green overcoat and brown pants. Still wearing his round sunglasses, he was just as mysterious looking as the Uzumaki remembered.

Then there was the young kunoichi behind him, Hyuga Hinata, in her bulky beige jacket with fur trim and dark blue capri pants. The young girl was looking around shyly, her pale featureless white eyes framed by dark blue hime-styled hair. Her eyes widened when she saw him, her face turning a shade of red as she looked away from making eye contact with the boy.

_Aww…_

_Interesting…_

Naruto's eye twitched slightly as the shadows began to make odd cooing noises after seeing the girl's reaction. _'What the hell is with them? It's starting to piss me off…'_

Shaking his head and doing his best to ignore them, he observed the final of his old classmates. Nara Shikamaru, he'd recognize that lazy walk and slouch anywhere. Wearing his typical look of boredom, the boy was in his usual outfit. Short-sleeved grey jacket over a mesh armor shirt and brown pants, his black hair in its typical spiky pineapple shape.

As the Nara entered the room, he sensed an odd feeling in the room, vaguely feeling something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Looking around the room, he didn't see anything out of place. Large rectangular room, large desk at the back with the Hokage and Iruka at it. Another off to the side with half a dozen or so chunin sorting through paperwork.

Then he saw Naruto, who was leaning against the counter next to the Hokage, apparently waiting for something. His eyes suddenly narrowed, the Uzumaki looked a little… different then he remembered. His eye seemed to have sharpened some as though he had gone through something important.

His appearance, however, hadn't changed much, still dressed in his normal burnt orange jacket, black shirt, and black pants. He was wearing his cloth eyepatch today, but other than that he couldn't see anything that would give him this feeling.

'_It feels like he's… darker…somehow? Something feels off about the room…' _He couldn't really understand it, just an inkling in the back of his head. Shaking his head with a yawn, he decided it was too troublesome to think about anymore and followed his team to stand at the front of the Hokage and Iruka.

"Team 8, reporting for pickup Hokage-sama." The woman announced as the four stood in somewhat attention.

"Ah, Kurenai-san. As expected of you, right on time and ready for duty." The elderly leader gave the team a warm smile in greeting. He motioned towards the jinchuuriki, signaling the boy to move forward to greet the jonin.

"Young Naruto here will be attached to your unit for the next few weeks of training and missions."

Naruto greeted the woman with a nod, "Nice to meet you, I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

You woman smiled at him kindly, "Yuhi Kurenai. I assume you remember these three?" Said three were looking at Naruto in varying states of curiosity.

Giving them a friendly smile, Naruto nodded cheerfully, "Yeah, hasn't been that long. Hey Shikamaru, Hinata, Shino." He walked over to stand with the genin, making small talk as Kurenai spoke with the Hokage some more.

"Naruto-san. It is pleasant to see you again." Shino was quite succinct in his greeting.

"H-hello Naruto-kun…" The quiet greeting from the Hyuga heiress was normal, such an oddly shy girl.

"-_yawn-_ I was wondering what had happened to you, Naruto." The Nara was looking particularly tired this morning.

"Eh, you could say I had to go through some _troublesome_ things for graduation." The two shadow users let out a smirk at the blond's use of the lazy genin's catchphrase.

"How's it been with you guys? Kurenai-sensei working this lazybones too hard or something?" He elbowed the yawning boy in the side, making said boy grumble under his breath.

"Slave driving woman… I don't even get to watch the clouds or play shogi until late afternoon." He suppressed a shiver suddenly as his Sensei glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Kurenai-sensei's training isn't that d-difficult, Shikamaru-kun…" Hinata admonished the lazy boy quietly, defending their sensei's training methods.

"Kurenai-Sensei has been pushing Shikamaru-san more after we passed her test on Tuesday because without such effort he would not train himself." The bug users reply caused Naruto to snicker slightly, '_Yeah, that sounds about right.'_

_Another… one…?_

_No… different…_

_Legacy…user…_

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the whispers, before remembering what the Hokage had told him last week. _'That's right, Shikamaru's whole clan uses shadows. But what's a legacy user? His clan's stuff came from the contract too?' _He moved away from his thoughts as Kurenai came back to them.

"Alright you four, we have training ground 11 reserved for the next 35 days. We'll be meeting there from now on, alright Naruto?" At the boy's affirmative nod, she continued, "For now let's go have a quick meal and we can head over for some training."

Waving goodbye to the Kage and their former sensei, the four genin followed their sensei out of the tower.

**XxXxXxX**

Team 8 and their temporary addition left the tower in short order, soon after they arrived at a small cafe not too far from the Hokage's Tower. Quickly getting a table the five seated themselves, Shikamaru and Shino on one side with Hinata and Kurenai on the other with Naruto at the end.

Everyone took a moment to order before they finally got settled to talk.

"Let's introduce ourselves again, so Naruto-san can get a little refresher on everyone," at the teacher's suggestion the rest of team 8 nodded in understanding.

"I'll go first, my name is Yuhi Kurenai. I just recently became a jonin, with my main specialty in genjutsu. I like to come up with new genjutsu and hang out with my friends. I dislike people who think women can't be as strong as men and people who look down on genjutsu. My dream for the future is to see each of you make chunin." Finishing her introduction with a smile she looked toward a nearly napping Shikamaru next.

Sighing as if the greatest burden ever was now on his shoulders, he sat up again, "Guess I'll get this troublesome stuff over with..." they lazy boy's words caused a round of eye rolls from the others.

"My name is Nara Shikamaru, my likes are cloud watching, naps, and shogi. I dislike people who are loud and people who try to force hardworking onto me." At this, he eyed a bemused Kurenai, before continuing with a muttered 'troublesome...'

"My dreams for the future are to get to chunin, find a woman who is neither ugly or pretty and then have two kids. A boy and then a girl, then retire and live out the rest of my days playing shogi."

Naruto could only shake his head at the Nara's unambitious dream, it was very much something the lazy genin would say.

Hinata began next, her voice quiet in the bustle of the café, "Ano… my name is Hyuga Hinata, I like to p-press flowers… I d-don't like b-bullies or p-people who hurt others for no reason. My h-hope is to one day l-lead the Hyuga clan and get away from the p-poor traditions we have now…" The girl had a faint determined look in her eyes at her declaration, if it could be called such anyways. Despite her soft-spoken intro, it did add a new light to the young girl in the Uzumaki's mind.

'_I always thought she was weird, always getting super quiet and shy all the time, but there really is more to her huh…'_

"I believe it is now my turn because I am the last one aside from Naruto-San. My name is Aburame Shino, my likes are learning about insects and finding new species to add to my collection. My dislikes are people who kill insects for no reason and those who belittle others. My ambition for the future is to become the head of the Aburame clan and produce stronger chakra beetles for the good of Konoha."

Naruto was certain he had never heard Shino speak so much in a single sitting, odds were that wasn't going to happen all that often too.

Coughing to clear his throat, he started his own introduction.

"Alright, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like my precious people, training, and ramen, though miso pork-flavored from Ichiraku is my favorite! My dislikes are people who hurt others just because they are stronger, and anyone who thinks they can hurt my precious people and get away with it! My dream is to one day be Hokage, but for now, my goal is to get stronger and make that guy proud!"

'That guy' would be the Shadow King, who gave him power and a place in the clan he could rely on. He'd definitely show the king it was a good idea to make that contract, the Uzumaki had sworn on it!

Before anyone could question who 'that guy' was, everyone's food had arrived. Growling stomachs distracted them long enough to forget about it, each quickly saying a small thanks for the food and digging in with gusto.

**XxXxXxX**

After some more small talk and finishing their meal the five paid and jumped off to the training grounds. It had a wide clearing with a small hill in the back, a large oak tree on top of that. There were about half a dozen wooden posts strewn around the clearing in an irregular semicircle pattern for practicing techniques on.

Having her students begin their warm-up exercises and stretches, Kurenai went to Naruto to ensure he knew what to do. Finding the boy doing the usual genin regime properly she couldn't help but be surprised by the boy's aptitude.

"Good to see you have maintained good health, Naruto-san. Did someone give you the standard exercises?"

Standing once more from his stretch Naruto nodded, "Yeah, Hokage-jiji gave me a scroll for this stuff last week. I was already doing most of the workout anyways, it's just a little extra to add into my regime."

Nodding at the genin's excellent work ethic, Kurenai couldn't help but smile. "Well done, that's one less thing I need to go over then. Once everyone is done, we'll go through a few teamwork exercises and maybe some tracking training."

Giving the woman a thumbs up, Naruto went back to his warm up. 45 minutes later everyone was suitably warmed up and ready to go.

The first exercise the jonin chose was a simple one, everyone would throw a ball around without speaking and never allowing the ball to lose momentum. The goal was to communicate the desired location and recipient without vocal direction, a necessary skill out in the field.

Plus, it had the added bonus of working their hand-eye coordination, which was never a downside

The four genin placed themselves randomly around the training posts, each would move during every throw to ensure difficulty. Choosing one at random, Kurenai tossed the ball and set the speed for the training.

Starting off with Shino, who tossed it behind him towards Shikamaru with little more than a pointed look. Catching the slow-moving ball, he took a step back and pivoted it towards Naruto. Catching it easily enough, he tossed it from one hand to the other while spinning around to face Hinata. Throwing it underhand, the girl had little issue to catch it and threw it back to Shino over the other two's heads.

Nodding at the decent first round, Kurenai motioned them to keep going. "Switch around and keep increasing the speed every round, for now, stay on the ground. Later on, we'll add in jumping on the pillars or in the forest."

At that, the four continued to toss the ball around. It lasted for 3 more rounds before the Nara made the first mistake, a rough throw from Naruto bounced off the training post to smack him in the head.

"Oops, sorry about that Shikamaru..." Naruto tried hard not to laugh at the red mark on the now grumpy Nara's head.

With a muttered 'troublesome blond...' under his breath he grabbed the ball and they continued the training.

By the ends of the training, it looked less like a slow game of modified catch and more like an intense game of reverse dodgeball. The four had long realized that as long as the ball didn't hit the ground, it was still good to go. Bouncing the ball off the pillars to teammates across the clearing, the genin had caught on quite well. There were a few more missteps as the training grew faster and more complex, but the four had a solid grasp on the beginnings of nonverbal communication with their teammates by the end of the morning.

**XxXxXxX**

A few hours later they once more stopped for lunch, chitchatting as they ate at a nearby dango shop Kurenai frequented. After their meal, they went back for the afternoon training.

The objective was to follow the somewhat obvious signs that Kurenai set up around the forest. Without using any special techniques or chakra, the four had to find their way through the trail to Kurenai.

Thanks to the ever-observant Shino it wasn't too much trouble for them to find the way the first time. Shikamaru proved he was just as capable if not more so, following a path almost directly towards their teacher in record time. While Hinata struggled at first, she managed to find the trail with assistance from the others when they happened upon a few tricky sites.

Naruto himself had to nearly plug his ears, the shadows all too happy to help him out in the training. Some harsh whispers settled them down, causing his temporary team to give him odd looks. Laughing nervously while scratching his eyepatch, the boy waved them off. Though curious, they left him alone as he led them through the afternoon.

Soon each attempt through the training was harder as Kurenai began to set up trails that intersected former tests alongside false trails. Each genin getting a chance to lead the 'hunt', everyone got a good feel for their needs when it came to tracking.

Finally calling the training done for the day just as the sun hit the horizon, Kurenai smiled at the 4 tired looking genin. Trekking through the forest was a lot harder than tree jumping was, especially without using chakra, and at the end of the training they had hiked a solid 15 miles up, down, and around the hill filled woods of the training grounds throughout the afternoon.

"Well done you guys, we got some good progress done today. I hope you all keep in mind the things you need to work on for next time." Seeing their tired nods, she dismissed the four.

Watching their sensei vanish in a swirl of leaves the four regarded each other as they caught their breath.

"That… was a lot …. harder then I thought… it'd be…" Despite his impressive stamina, Naruto found himself a panting mess on the ground. He wasn't the only one, both Shikamaru and Hinata were laying on the ground as they caught their breath. Even the unflappable Shino was sitting against a nearby post, his chest moving deeply as he recovered.

"Told… you…" Shikamaru muttered between breaths, reaching into his pouch to grab his canteen.

Without the use of techniques or chakra at all, they four had to use their own unaltered strength to hike around. It taught them about themselves, with Shikamaru becoming well aware of his physical shortcomings and grudgingly realizing he needed to work harder. Shino understood he needed to push himself more in his physical training. While Hinata had managed to last longer then Shikamaru had, thanks to her own tough training under her father, she still fell behind Naruto and Shino.

After a few more minutes of recovery, the first to stand was the Uzumaki. Stretching and letting out a loud groan, he relaxed as he felt a series of pops run through his spine. Offering a hand to his new teammates in turn, he helped Shikamaru and Shino to their feet. Hinata's face went tomato red at the offer, but he merely assumed it was the exertion of the days training and took her hesitating hand firmly to lift her lithe form up.

The other two boys watched in amusement as the obviously crushing Hyuga did her best to not faint at the contact. Quickly extricating herself away from the boy, she thanked him with a small bow, somewhat hiding behind a training post. Excusing herself, she bid the three boys goodnight and was the first of them to head home for the night.

Next was Shino, quietly wishing the two well, he nodded and took his leave after the girl. Rubbing his neck tiredly, Shikamaru turned to the Uzumaki. "Feels like she worked us extra hard today, I think we have you to blame for that."

Smirking at the disgruntled Nara, Naruto could only shrug. "Eh, its never bad to get some heavy training in, right? Besides, I bet it won't be quite so tough tomorrow. I think today was more about team bonding than anything else."

The lazy shadow user could understand that today wasn't intense in physical work, not really anyways. It was more building team trust, as well as determine strengths and weaknesses in leadership positions. Looking around the evening light of the clearing, the boy reflected on his training for the day.

It was then a memory popped up in the back of his mind, "Oh yeah, my dad said that you could come over this weekend for that training the Hokage set up. What exactly are you gonna be training with us for?" He looked at the boy curiously, wondering what his clan could be helping the blond with.

"Gotcha, as for what, you'll learn about it sooner or later." That and he wasn't exactly sure to what extent he should reveal his abilities. From what the Hokage told him, the Shadow Contract wasn't exactly something that was widespread knowledge. It might be better to hold some cards close to the chest, he wasn't exactly sure who actually _knew_ about what when it came to his powers now.

"Hmm…" narrowing his eyes at the vague reply, the Nara ultimately decided it was too troublesome to fret over. It was only a matter of time until he found out, and the boy was nothing if not patient.

"Whatever, I'll know when it becomes important to know. Until then, see you tomorrow Naruto." Giving the boy a lazy wave, the Nara walked off to his clan compound. Got to tell his dad he had delivered the news, and that he might need some tips on training up his stamina.

Watching his final teammate leave, the Uzumaki looked around the clearing. Finding the clearing completely void of others, he nodded to himself and jumped into the trees to go deeper into the forest.

'_Time for some different training, plus I gotta figure out just what I can show them when the time comes.' _

**XxXxXxX**

The next few days passed quite the same for the modified team 8, every other day had chakraless centered training to work on their physical abilities. They repeated the tracking training a few times, though the team building exercises varied. They each also learned the various team formations for the numerous possible situations they'd be going through in time.

From escort practice to stealth ambush tactics, the genin were subjected to a varying schedule over the course of the week. Kurenai was sure to put them through the wringer, directing them through several exercises to better improve their weaknesses. It was good to understand their own weaknesses so that could work to improve themselves in the long run.

After the day training was done, Naruto would continue his late-night training. Working with the shadows he managed to refine his control over shadow energy. Using the tips on meditation that Kurenai had given him, he managed to get a better understanding of the energy he was replacing his chakra with.

Achieving a decent level of meditation, he was better able to feel the way the energy interacted with his body. While he wasn't completely sure, he did feel that shadow energy was more difficult to detect then chakra. It would be a boon if he could get it confirmed with one of the sensors in the village.

'_Maybe I should go ask Ino, isn't her dad a sensor-type? I bet she could tell me…' _ Filing that thought away for later, the boy continued his mental training in the art of the shadows.

Taking a cue from the shadows, Naruto would spend a few days trying to modify his _Inton: Dark Spires_ to better make it adaptable in different situations. His first success was in transforming the deadly spikes to bludgeoning 'fists'. Upon achieving that regularly, he worked on varying the size and speed of the techniques. Even going so far as have the attack intersect and smash together at a single point until he got a sudden flash of inspiration. Summoning the shadows to his front, he had the shadowy columns crisscross in front of him to form an interwoven shield.

Working through several shapes, he finally settled on something the shadows described to him, calling it a 'tower shield' to defend his front. Throughout the week he worked on increasing the speed of the shield summoning, as well as converting from attack to defense and vice-versa at increasing speeds.

It was Friday night when he was finally satisfied enough with them both to consider them usable in low-risk battle, dubbing his newest techniques _Inton: Dark Weave Barrier _and_ Inton: Dark Assault. _

_Getting… stronger…_

_Well… done…_

_Finished…?_

Yawning, Naruto nodded to the shadows that had accompanied him during his training. It had taken time, but he could kinda tell the difference between the shadowy figures that followed him. They frequently changed, some staying with him for days at a time while others would be there a few short hours.

Nonetheless, he appreciated their company during his training. It was thanks to their tips and hints that he was progressing as well as he was. He could also feel them help him manipulate the shadows for his techniques, acting as training wheels to help him figure out the process on his own.

Gathering his supplies and equipment, Naruto jumped off into the trees towards his apartment. He had an appointment with the Nara clan in the morning to get some rest for. There were _plenty _of ideas going through his head, hopefully, the shadow specialists would be able to help him out. Smirking at the prospects, Naruto vanished into the darkness.

**XxXxXxX**

**That felt like a good stopping point right there. So what do you think? Tried to cut down on the over detailing, I've read a few fics that just **_**love**_ **to cram too many details when it comes to training and other stuff. **

**How were the interactions? Did I represent the characters decently? Shino's personality might be a problem for me since I can't really say I know him that well, I know some fics love to overplay his 'Why you ask? Because….' Style of speech but reading that pisses me off for some reason.**

**This isn't a confirmation of a Naru/Hina either, odds are it won't be. Even though they are my personal favorite pairing, with the personality progression Naruto will be going through soon it won't really work out very well. (yes he will get darker over time, shadow energy isn't free remember?)**

**Speaking of which, how was the stutter? I've seen some people do it so much I felt like I needed to have a seizure just to read it properly, I honestly debated having one at all. I like to use the anime for reference (dubbed cause I'm too lazy to read) and the worst I remember from that is her saying 'um…' a lot, instead of actually stuttering. Quiet and cute girl, but no speech impediment that gives Foghorn Leghorn a run for his money.**

**Anyways this is dragging on, feel free to make suggestions for powers or pairings, nothing is set in stone quite yet.**

**Review, if you please and I'll see you guys next time.**


	6. A Darker Understanding

**Hello, again my dear readers! Welcome to the next installment of my merry little story. A little insight into my writing process, if you will allow it. **

**I prefer to post on either Thursdays or Fridays, that way ya'll have a weekend to enjoy it at your leisure. I also try to get between 1000 – 1500 words of the next chapter ready before I post one. **

**Ya know, make sure I got something started just in case I get busy with other stuff. I've yet to get writer's block, knock on wood, but ya never know yeah?**

**I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show!**

**XxXxXxX**

**Chapter 5**

**A Darker Understanding**

That Saturday morning found our budding shadow lord awakening with a mighty yawn. Smacking his lips and rubbing his sleep-encrusted eyes, the boy stumbled his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. A quick bathroom break, followed by an invigorating shower and the boy was finally amongst the living.

Making a simple breakfast with the previous night's rice and miso soup dinner, the boy added some fried eggs for that protein boost and was fueled for the day. Summoning his shadow beasts to clean up, he brushed his teeth and got dressed in his typical training outfit once more.

After ensuring everything was shipshape for his departure, his beasts returned to his shadow and the boy left his apartment humming a quiet tune to himself. Heading to the eastern portion of the village, the boy took his time to get to the clan districts. Having left a bit before half-past 8, the boy had given himself plenty of time to get to the compound.

Leisurely hopping from roof to roof, it took him 15 minutes to reach his destination. It was a rather average looking compound, without the flair the Uchiha had enjoyed or the rigid uniformity that the Hyuga clan favored.

The Clan territory was marked by simple stone walls with the wavy lines within a circle that marked the Nara clan's emblem, he could see several different houses all along the property. Numerous hills dotted the landscape, with much of the forest left untouched by the Nara clan as they built their houses and shops along the main road leading to the clan leader's house.

They were average looking houses, decorated with the clan's symbol and the odd plant or deerskin created trinket. Beige in color, with darker brown trim the houses blended quite well with the thick forest he could see behind them all. The Nara's special forest no doubt, where they kept their herds of unique deer for meat and medicinal purposes of the village.

Despite the early hour, Naruto could see a few groups of Naras walking around, either on patrol or heading to work for the morning. Each one bore a passing resemblance towards Shikamaru, all having black hair with the males wearing it in that trademark pineapple-like ponytail.

"Must be a clan tradition or something…" Naruto muttered to himself quietly, passing by a group of 3 men, all lazily sauntering along the road out of the compound. Each had the same hairstyle, _'Perhaps individuality is too troublesome?' _

The genin couldn't help but snicker at his lame joke, the behavior of the clan members matching the sheer lazy/bored feeling that Shikamaru always gave off. Continuing his way to the clan head's house, Naruto soon arrived to knock on the door.

Though he was a little nervous at the moment, he wasn't well liked by most of the village. Now that he knew why he could kind of understand the scared looks sometimes, but the dark glares or completely ignoring his existence? Those were the looks he hated the most, he was quietly hoping that Shikamaru's parents weren't like the villagers were.

Giving the door a few strong knocks the boy waited patiently as faint footsteps could be heard from inside. His patience was rewarded as the door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman with long brown hair tied in a low ponytail. Wearing a pink blouse and a dark skirt under a white apron, the woman was the perfect picture of a housewife.

"Yes?" she asked curiously.

Bowing slightly in greeting the boy introduced himself respectfully, "Uzumaki Naruto, I'm here for the training that the Hokage set up."

Her eyes widened in realization as she regarded the boy in front of her in greater detail, "Oh! I'm a little surprised you're here already, we weren't really sure when you'd arrive." She stepped to the side and invited the boy in.

Giving the young genin a pleasant smile in greeting, she introduced herself, "I'm Nara Yoshino, Shikamaru's mom. He and Shikaku are out on the patio playing shogi, just follow me." Allowing the boy time to remove his sandals, she led him through the house towards a large patio door at the end of the building.

Naruto looked around the house as he walked through, the small entryway led to a large sitting room. Off of that, he could see a hallway to the left, the kitchen through a dining room to his right. Nicely decorated with earth colored furniture, along with several photos of the happy family from numerous points in their life.

"Nice to meet you," He began politely, "I'm actually a little surprised Shikamaru is awake already. I thought for sure he'd be passed out until noon." He joked, causing the woman no small amount of amusement.

"_-laughs_\- No doubt he would have if I let him have his way. But Shikaku insisted he be up to help out with your training, he decided to use it as an excuse to get the lazy kid working on the next steps of his shadow jutsu himself. That lazy bum needs a kick in the pants every once in the while, but I'm more than happy to do it!" The jovial way the mother spoke brought a smile to the Uzumaki's face, Shikamaru may have always complained about his mother during training but it was clear she cared for the boy.

Arriving at the glass doors, the housewife opened them and called out to her family. "Hey, you two, finish up your game. Naruto-kun is already here for his training." Lightly patting the boy on the back, she directed him out the door to see the two Nara sitting on the floor, a large wooden shogi board between them.

"Alright dear, thanks for bringing him here." He saw a large, scarred adult version of Shikamaru smile at the woman. _'Yeah, he couldn't look any more like his dad without getting those scars and the goatee on his face', _the Uzumaki could easily see the resemblance between the two.

He idly wondered if he took after his father or mother that much as well. Shaking his head of those thoughts, he walked forward to stand at the side of the game. Yoshino smiled at them, before bidding the three goodbye to head back inside to her other chores for the morning.

"Hey Naruto, go ahead and take a seat. We're almost done with this match; I finally got my old man on the ropes." Naruto could only quirk an eyebrow as he heard the excitement in the normally indifferent boy.

The Nara's father could only smirk and chuckle at his son's confidence, before moving a piece from his barely touched corner right into the center of the board. Naruto watched curiously as the confident smirk on Shikamaru's face fell considerably with each passing second.

Not even a minute later and the boy angrily ruffled his own hair, falling backward he let out a sigh, "I give up, I really thought I had you that time…"

Standing up with a few more chuckles at his son's expense, the Nara patriarch offered his hand to the Uzumaki. "You were closer than normal, son, but you got a little too preoccupied with what I was doing at the front to remember the moves I made in the back.

"Good to meet you Naruto, I've heard interesting things from Hokage-sama."

Taking the jonin's hand in greeting Naruto could only smirk at the downtrodden Nara heir, "Good to meet you too. I take it he hasn't beat you before?" At the question Shikamaru let out an irate grunt towards the blond, giving him a half-hearted glare out the corner of his eye.

A look of amusement lit of the clan head's face as he nodded at the question, "He's been trying to beat me ever since he first learned the game. He's gotten close sometimes, but he's still missing that bigger picture viewpoint he needs to beat me."

Sighing at his father's words, Shikamaru sat up and put the pieces of the shogi board away. Standing up with a stretch he turned to the other two, "Whatever you say, dad. How about we get Naruto's training started? I've been wondering what exactly we're supposed to be training him for all week."

Kurenai had never gotten around to putting them in jutsu requiring situations, focusing on getting their teamwork and strategy skills to higher levels. The fact that ¾ of the team were clan heirs made it easier to push the jutsu training to the backburner while they worked on more important skills.

"You didn't tell him?"

"Wasn't really sure what I could share actually."

"Ah, I doubt he would have said anything to anyone but me, but I understand. Whatever you pick to reveal I'll go along with, no need to reveal everything all at once, eh? Might fry his brain."

Shikamaru's eye twitched in irritation as the two talked as if he wasn't there.

"Let's just go." With a grumpy huff, the irate Nara waited impatiently as his father walked off to the training building behind the main house.

**XxXxXxX**

A few minutes of walking along the wooden path and the three shinobi arrived at the indoor training grounds favored by the shadow wielding clan. It made the curious Shikamaru even more confused as the entered the specially designed building.

'_Just what kind of training can we do here with Naruto?'_

Built like a medium sized gymnasium, the floor had all manner of objects strewn about. Various lights dotted the walls and ceilings, some natural candles or torches while others were mechanical lights of varying brightness. In the far end of the large room were several training puppets to use for the clan's trademark _Shadow Possession Jutsu_.

Naruto looked around the room as Shikaku turned on the main overhead lights, it was bigger than it looked outside. He looked around all the various equipment all over the place, he could see numerous shadows being tossed about by the lights. No doubt it was a good place the Nara clan could make use of to training their unique techniques in many possible scenarios.

"Well, first things first Naruto. What do you have to work with right now? Once I get a read on what you have and where you want to go, we can move on from there." Shikaku instructed the boy as he led him towards a rather empty portion of the training room. It looked to be a sparring circle about 15 feet wide.

"I've been doing work with my first technique, branching off of that. I'm just having issues in trying to figure out the limits I have to work in," the boy began to channel chakra to his eye, feeling the energy of the shadows flow through him once more as he readied himself to display his 'basic' techniques.

"Alright, show me what you got." Standing back with a confused Shikamaru, the clan head motioned for the boy to continue.

"First up, _Inton: Dark Spires!_" He flicked his hand out suddenly, a series of deadly looking spike made of shadows bursting from in front of him. They each grew to several feet, forming a rough line in front of the boy to the other end of the circle.

Shikamaru's eyes widened comically as he saw the boy command the shadows to his bidding, seeing as the Uzumaki soon activated two more techniques he hadn't heard of before.

As the spike receded, Naruto's shadowy eye glowed beneath his eyepatch. With his power flowing through him he activated his next techniques. A dozen shadowy 'fists' appeared before him, in various positions around the ring. They all stretched out to pound onto a single point in the ring, loud _bangs_ sounding throughout in the room.

Soon they stopped their assault, only to turn on Naruto himself. Without flinching the boy closed his outstretched hand, a look of concentration on his face. Right in front of him, his own shadow stretched slightly and shot up intersecting strips of shadows. They formed a thick shadowy shield in front of the boy as each of the 'fists' slammed into it.

A multitude of loud slams reverberated through the training hall, as the assault ended Naruto allowed the shadows to return to their natural state. Turning to see the two Nara's reaction, he wasn't disappointed as he saw a thoroughly shocked Shikamaru gazing back at him. Besides the shell-shocked boy was his equally surprised father.

'_Damn, only 2 weeks and he's got those kinds of techniques up his sleeves? Plus, with those shadow beasts of his, I doubt we have a chunin that could withstand that assault and keep fighting.' _The clan leader could imagine the possible scenarios the boy could use those techniques in. Each of those impacts from those shadow 'fists' would have left one hell of a bruise on a normal human. Yet the boy's shield had handled them without anything worse than some noise, displaying a sturdiness comparable to steel.

"_-whistles- _Whew, those are some pretty good moves you got there, Naruto. The speed of those spikes and strength in those fists definitely merit C-rank. We'd have to see how good that shield is against elemental attacks, but it's definitely at least C-rank, maybe even B if it can hold up." Shikaku was quite impressed with the boy's jutsu.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, was frozen in place, gaping like a fish out of water. His eyes widened at the display Naruto dished out, his mind struggled to come to grips with the situation. _'He just…when did he…? How…. I don't even…' _ indeed, the boy's mind was racing and not quite making sense yet.

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly, he didn't think the jutsu he had come up with would be so good. C-rank jutsu was also known as 'Combat Ready' jutsu, they were the optimal grade you could use in active combat. Similar to the Uchiha clan's _Grand Fireball Jutsu, _they were what high genin/ low chunin used to fight opposing ninja out in the field.

While smoke figuratively came from his son's ears, Shikaku walked forward to impart some knowledge on the young Shadow Lord. "Tell me Naruto, what do you know about the shadows themselves?"

The boy furrowed his brow in thought, a few things came to mind but not really sure if it was what the Nara wanted. Ultimately deciding to err on the side of caution, he looked to Shikaku in curiosity.

"I guess I don't really know a whole lot. I mean, I figured out that the shadows are kind like a liquid and solid at the same time. They are super adaptable and able to be used in a variety of ways." Listing what he figured out to the clan leader, he saw the man nod approvingly.

"That's a decent assessment for someone without any dedicated training on the subject. The shadows can be a little bit of everything actually; gas, solid, and liquid. It just depends on the application." He formed a rat hand sign, manipulating his shadow to spread across the floor. He showcased a few of the clan's techniques on the dummies on the opposite side of the room.

Naruto watched in fascination as the dummies followed the man's movements, only for shadowy hands to creep up their wooden bodies and let out a sharp _crack _as they snapped the dummies necks. The young genin watched in fascination as the older jonin went through a few more tricks in shadow manipulation before he started speaking again.

"Our clan primarily uses our personal shadows to fight, along with targeting the shadows of our enemies. Unlike your combat-oriented attacks, ours are built better towards capture and containment. Though we also have jutsu capable of inflicting damage, it requires more tactical battlefield management than your techniques.

"Though that is not to say that the shadows are without weakness. If we can't get a strong enough light source to cast a dark enough shadow, our techniques lose much of their effectiveness. In addition to that, we have to be wary of fire and lightning jutsu. Both can cut through shadow jutsu very easily, which is why it's important to have back up plans in place to prevent mission failure or death/damage."

Naruto nodded as he soaked in the information, it made sense to the boy. Plus, the shadows were whispering their own advice on the subject as well. Much of it was matching the Jonin Commander's lecture.

_Darkness… enhances… strength…_

_Fire… lightning…_

_true… weakness…_

It was here that Shikamaru's brain finally rebooted and he immediately walked towards the blond, a desire for answers burning in his mind.

"Ok, what the hell is going on? How did Naruto do all that? He didn't use any hand signs at all!" he stood beside the two, looking between them rapidly with wide eyes.

The other shinobi glanced at each other before Shikaku simply motioned at Naruto finally. "You want answers, you ask him. I ain't saying anything he doesn't want me to, he's entitled to his own secrets." Washing his hands of the situation he dropped his technique and made a motion for Naruto to take the lead of the discussion.

Chuckling nervously at the rather heated look Shikamaru was giving him, Naruto gave the irate boy an abridged version of how he got his powers. Shadow contract, made a deal with the king, just been powering through on his own without much guidance.

'_No need to let them know I could bring back the dead's shadows, or that the shadows talk to me. Some things are better left unsaid.'_

Affirming himself of these thoughts, he finished his edited explanation to the young Nara. Who looked like he was gaining one hell of a headache if the way he was rubbing the bridge of his nose was any indicator.

"So troublesome… I swear you are the most unpredictable person I have ever met…" His eye twitched as he saw Naruto smirk at the proclamation.

"That's not a good thing!" Shaking his head at the snickering boy, he turned back toward his father.

"So now what?"

Leaning away from the wall, Shikaku stepped forward to stand in front of the two boys. "Now? Now we train, I'll show Naruto one of our shadow immersion meditations while you work on your _Shadow Neck Bind_."

Letting out a sigh and muttering under his breath, the Nara heir nodded at his father's directions before he moved over to the practice dummies. Meanwhile, Naruto followed the older Nara to the corner of the room, where it was darkest in the training hall.

Following the older man's instructions for the meditation, Naruto sat quietly in the corner and let his shadowy energy flow through him once more. Directing the shadows to cover his body, Naruto began the process of _feeling_ the power of the shadows, for lack a better word. As the minutes ticked by into that first hour, the boy unknowingly began to enter deeper into the darkness until his form all but vanished.

_Open… your… eyes…_

_Interesting…_

At the shadow's whispers, Naruto opened his eyes to see what the fuss was about. Only for his eyes to widen significantly, the view before him shocking the boy. Nothing but pure darkness as far as he could see, with faint beams of light appearing from numerous places from some kind of ceiling a few feet above his head.

"Whoa, what the hell is going on?" He looked around his position, standing and turning around to get a better look.

_Shadow… Plane…_

_Entered… it…_

The boy could only blink in confusion as he hesitantly walked towards one of the closer faint beams of light. Looking into the irregular shape on the shadowy ceiling, he was surprised to see Shikamaru above him. Though the vision was distorted, as if he was seeing it through a fish-eye lens, he could see the Nara practicing his techniques in the training hall.

He watched as the light shifted to follow the boy's shadow along the floor. Looking around he spotted Shikaku's shadow as well, just a few feet away, the man himself was visibly leaning against a nearby post. His eyes widened in realization at what he had inadvertently done.

"Holy crap, I can go into shadows too?!" He proclamation caused the two Naras to jump in surprise.

"Wha- Naruto? Where the hell are you?" The genin cried out, looking around for the owner of the voice that just yelled in his ear.

Shikaku looked back toward the corner of the room, seeing Naruto no longer in his meditative position as he was just five minutes ago.

"Uh, down here, I guess? I think I'm in your shadow." Both Nara immediately looked down, not really seeing anything out of place despite clearly hearing the boy's voice coming from Shikamaru's shadow.

"Ok then… do you mind coming up? Kinda need to figure out how that's even possible…" Shikaku was quickly realizing that the Uzumaki was definitely not using the shadows the same as the Nara clan was. Entering someone's shadow? Never been heard of, their own maybe, for the most powerful of shadow users. But for others it just wasn't a viable option, it would require a stronger control then the Nara clan had.

Naruto blinked once more in confusion; how would he get back up there again?

As if reading his mind, the floor raised the boy up to slowly appear from Nara's shadow. A few moments later and a heavily darkened Naruto stood before the two Nara, the shadows slowly creeping off his form to reveal himself in full color once more.

"That was trippy, it is super dark down there." The two could only give the boy blank looks at his rather lame statement.

"That's all you have to say? That's impossible! I've never heard of someone entering another person's shadow!" Right away the Nara genin laid into the blond, bombarding him with questions and statements on the impossibility of what had just transpired.

Scratching his head, Shikaku could only sigh at the position he was now in. That old Kage sure did like to keep him on his toes, didn't he?

'_I think it's safe to say that we have _no_ idea just how much potential Naruto has. He hasn't even shown us his shadow beasts yet, just what else does he have up his sleeves?'_ Letting out another sigh, the man walked forward to save the blond, and restart the two on their respective training.

It was going to be a long day.

**XxXxXxX**

The hours ticked by as Naruto got pointers and training methods to better understand the forces he was working with. Meanwhile, Shikamaru was slowly adjusting to the thought of having a shadow using Naruto be a thing in his life.

It was noon when the jonin called for a break, calling the spar the two were having to a close. Appearing from his better-improved movement technique, Naruto stood before the jonin while Shikamaru tiredly sauntered towards them.

"Let's go get lunch for now boys. We can get started again after we eat and relax for a while." At the two's nods, he led them out back towards his home. Behind him, he could hear the two talking about their training.

"Thanks for those tips Shikamaru, _Vanishing Step _is getting way easier to control now."

"No problem, I'm sure you would have gotten it figured out soon enough. It's crazy how good you are getting when it comes to controlling the shadows," He could only grumble at the ease that the other boy had, it was almost as if the shadows were happily following the blond's commands like obedient dogs.

Laughing off the tired genin's words, Naruto turned his head away innocently. _'Yeah… better not tell them the shadows are actively helping me improve. He might blow a fuse or something.'_

Arriving back at the main house, the three were greeted by Shikaku's wife just as they walked in.

"Oh! Good timing boys, I was just about to come to get you three. Lunch is almost ready, go wash up and I'll get it finished." She was smiling happily at them, already on her way back to the kitchen to finish off the meal.

"Yes, dear/mom." The two Nara chorused, moving to go wash up.

Meanwhile, Naruto stood there a little confused, hesitantly waiting for a moment. Hospitality wasn't something he got a whole lot of outside a select few people. He also wasn't expecting them to feed him or anything, maybe he should head out now to get something?

Before the boy could jump to any conclusion, Shikamaru popped his head back into the room, "What are you waiting for? Come clean up before mom throws a fit, that's a headache I don't need today."

Dragging the blond to the bathroom, the two quickly cleaned up and readied themselves for lunch.

**XxXxXxX**

Training had resumed once more after the lovely lunch the Naras and Uzumaki had. Naruto was pleasantly surprised at the civility of the adults. No offensive glares or muttered remarks, just a simple nice meal between the family of three and the jinchuuriki. After the initial meeting and the training, Naruto was sure they weren't that kind of people, but he had been wrong before.

The afternoon training happened outside in the back forests of the clan's grounds. There they tried to test out the extent of Naruto's unique shadow entering ability. Over the course of the afternoon, they had discovered a few things about its effectiveness.

First, Naruto could enter the shadows from any location suitably big enough. So long as he could squeeze his body through it, it was a viable entrance. However, the restriction was darkness, he couldn't enter the shadows in the midday light. But deeper in the forest he was able to do so, allowing him to slowly sink into the shadows after some meditation.

Second, it took time for him to go into the shadows. Unlike his shadow storage ability, he wasn't able to simply will it to happen on command. He had to enter a meditative state for a few minutes at least to create an entrance to the shadow plane. This was something the two Nara's believed would go away with time, it was only a lack of experience that caused this problem.

They'd also discovered something shocking about his shadow powers in general. A spar between the two genin in jutsu had led to Shikamaru dodging the blond's attacks and manipulated him into position to capture the jinchuuriki's shadow. It didn't go down all that well, as the second his shadow hit Naruto's it simply stopped.

It was as if Shikamaru's shadow suddenly refused to adhere to the jutsu. It failed to connect fully to Naruto's shadow and prevented the _Shadow Possession Jutsu _from activating at all. No amount of trying allowed the technique to go through, to the utter confusion of both the Nara men. Even Shikaku, with his substantially more impressive control, was unable to control the young Uzumaki at all.

There was still a lot they had to figure out about Naruto's unique ability, but that was all the time they had for the day. It was dusk when Shikaku finally called an end to their training.

"Alright you two, I think that's enough for the day." Seeing the grateful nod of his son and the cheery thumbs up of the Uzumaki the Nara clan head led them back to his home.

Arriving back at their home, Naruto spoke up, "Thanks a lot for the help today, I really figured out a lot of stuff."

"No problem, kid. Hokage-sama asked us to, but I would have helped either way. Not too many people make a deal with the King and live to tell about it." The older Nara simply waved the gratitude away, it was an interesting day with a lot to learn for everyone.

Shikamaru was much less nonchalant about it, "Still can't believe you. Such a troublesome guy…" Naruto only smirked at his fellow genin, everything he had done that day had just thrown the boy for a loop.

"Feel free to come back next weekend for more training, it's not so bad having you around to help motivate Shikamaru" hearing his sone grumble some more under his breath brought a smile to the scarred jonin's face.

"Definitely, I already feel stronger after just one day." At the Uzumaki's declaration, he clenched a fist and patted his arm in a grand showing. Hearing a sigh from the younger Nara, Naruto grinned and said his goodbyes to the two. Bidding the Nara matriarch farewell as she stepped outside to greet them, Naruto jumped off into the village.

"How did the training go with Naruto-kun?" She asked as her two boys followed her into the room.

"Not bad, he's a good kid. Gonna be one hell of a shinobi in the future."

"Such a troublesome blond… I think this will be more annoying than if I was on Ino's team…"

Yoshino could only smile in amusement at their statements, watching them head to clean up after their training. She could tell that despite his complaining, Shikamaru had a fun day in training. Having someone his age to train with in the shadowy arts got the boy to work a little harder.

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto spent the rest of his weekend training in his home. He had to get a better understanding of the new place he had discovered, figure out the ways he could use it for his shinobi career. Already he could see its applications in spying, though he had no idea how long or far he could go into the Shadow Plane.

There was still much for the boy to learn, maybe something to ask the King about in a few weeks' time? Thoughts for another time, the boy diligently continued his training under the helpful eyes of the shadows.

When Monday rolled around, team 8 dutifully jumped back into training. Stamina exercises, stealth, and tracking drills, along with formation and strategy training, the four went into it with gusto.

Kurenai had waited until that Thursday morning to come to her decision, it was time for them to move onto the next step as ninja-in-training.

Arriving at the mission dispatch center of the Hokage's Tower, Kurenai informed her team of their new schedule.

"I am pleased to say that you four have been doing splendidly in training," At this, the four genin showed pride in their own ways at the compliment, "As such, I think it's time we move on to missions and a bit more advanced training. We have a solid grasp on teamwork now, it's time we work on jutsu collaboration."

Grinning excitedly at the prospect, Naruto was raring to go.

Shikamaru only let out a sigh, _'More work then? Troublesome…'_

Hinata ducked her head down, shyly poking her fingers together in hesitance, she hoped it wasn't going to be too much for her to handle.

Shino merely nodded his assent at his sensei, it was only a matter of time before they reached this point.

Taking in her team's reactions, the jonin spoke up once more, "We'll be meeting here at 8 am every weekday, where I'll pick out our missions for the day. Don't expect too much though, fresh genin teams can only take D-rank missions for the first month or so of training." Seeing her team nod in understanding, the woman smiled and continued.

"I'll try to get two missions, that way you guys can get valuable experience and we can have the mornings filled out. After lunch, we'll head back to the training grounds for the next step in team training. We'll be figuring out the best way to combine your fighting styles to achieve the purpose of our team."

Naruto raised his hand to ask a question, "What's the team's purpose Kurenai-sensei?" Looking at the questioning blond the jonin answered him.

"Team 8 is designated as a Capture and Containment squad, all of you were placed in this team for your abilities to shut down enemy combatants. It's why I have been training you guys in tracking as well, you're being groomed to be able to hunt down enemies and capture them safely."

It made sense to the Uzumaki, from what he knew of his teammates in the training that they have done so far they weren't really frontline combatants. Well, maybe Hinata if she was a lot more confident in herself, that _Gentle Fist _was a doozy in hand-to-hand fights.

He wasn't totally sure what Shino could do but figured he was capable in his own right. He also knew first hand how effective the Nara clan's techniques were, even if they weren't totally effective against him.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Naruto followed his team for their first mission as shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

**XxXxXxX**

**Another done, how do you like his powers? Don't want to make him a Gary Stu or anything like that, but he will be pretty beast in the future.**

**Shadow Plane isn't something he can just hop in, he's gotta build up a proper mental state. Becoming one with the shadows isn't exactly easy or anything, ya know? **

**As for the **_**Shadow Possession**_**? He is a part of the Shadow Clan now, no shadow or shadow-based ability will hurt him. To do so would be to commit treason against the King, Naruto's benefactor and contract holder.**

**As always, feel free to ask questions. Let me know if I need to better write something, eh? I wanted to get this out, hoping I explained it decently enough.**

**Does anyone want to Beta for me? PM me if you're up to it. **

**Review, if you please and I'll see you guys next time.**


	7. A Shinobi's Life

**Hello, once more my loyal readers! How's it hanging?**

**Thanks for the love, I appreciate it. Glad to know you guys are getting a kick outta this little story of mine. A few of you are getting shockingly close to describing powers our boy will one day develop, good on ya!**

**I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show!**

**XxXxXxX**

**Chapter 6**

**A Shinobi's Life**

Shinobi is the main military of the Elemental Nations. Wielding supernatural powers, the likes that many could only dream of, they were the beings of fantasy and adventure. Many young kids were told of the brave exploits of the greatest Shinobi across the continent.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Professor, called such for his extensive mastery over hundreds of different jutsu. Also known as the God of Shinobi for his nigh-unmatched prowess in a battle for the good of Konoha.

Hanzou the Salamander, the unbelievably powerful ruler of Amegakure and the man who single handily pushed the legendary students of Hiruzen to the brink of death.

Ōnoki the Fence-Sitter, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure. His mastery of the unique _Dust Release _made him an enemy that few would attempt to combat.

These three men marked the great Three Pillars of the Shinobi world, with hundreds of stories of their exploits circulating around the world.

Tales of fantastic combat, daring adventures, the unyielding spirit in the face of overwhelming odds. Indeed, the mere mention of their epitaph was enough to draw attention to the tales.

Delusions of grandeur were the norm for many of a fresh-faced genin as they enter their respective mission disbursement centers. High octane fantasies of saving princesses and fighting bad guys for the greater good, many had become Shinobi for these very reasons.

One Uzumaki Naruto was among these starry-eyed youth, visions of great battles and glorious conquests in his path to become Hokage.

"This is…so not a mission…"

He was no longer starry-eyed, it seems.

"It is… not among the options I thought of as well."

Shino was of the same thought process.

Nearing the end of his second month as an official genin of Konoha, Naruto and the rest of team 8 got to experience the joys of D-rank missions. Babysitting the children of council members, gardening for the elderly of the village, even walking the mundane dogs that the Inuzaka clan raised for civilians.

They were a far cry from the romanticized stories they had grown up listening to.

Team 8 found itself at a multi-objective mission this morning. Inside were Hinata and Shikamaru, the kunoichi watching the young toddlers of the house while the lazy genin was stuck cleaning the house itself.

Naruto and Shino, on the other hand, were out in the morning sun. The backyard had long since been abandoned to neglect, now teaming with overgrown weeds and other plant life.

The young Aburame was tasked with clearing out unwanted insects and other pests. Using his own chakra beetles, Shino was aptly equipped to handle his task at hand.

Naruto found it ironic that they were using bugs to get rid of bugs.

The Uzumaki, however, was given the job of weeding what will eventually be the garden of the yard. It wasn't particularly hard, a simple question to the shadows gave him a method he could easily handle.

"Could the shadows 'eat' all the plants the client wanted to go?" he had whispered to the shadows.

_No… problem…_

_Simple… request…_

A little shadow energy and his shadow expanded to cover the yard, all the unwanted plants slowly sinking to vanish into the darkness. In a few short minutes, the invasive species were all eradicated from the yard with no trace remaining.

Shino watched this happening with a neutral expression, his own insects hard at work in the background.

"Your shadow powers are simply astonishing because they have such versatile applications to every situation." The monotones of his voice sounding out in the quiet yard.

Naruto turned to regard the boy, "Eh, they have their uses," he remarked modestly.

The reveal of the Uzumaki's shadow powers a few weeks ago was a shock to the remainder of team 8. Kurenai was briefed on his abilities, though given strict orders to not reveal anything more than the boy did.

Shino took it in stride, long since understanding that the enigma that was Uzumaki Naruto was a guy that was hard to understand. Ever since the boy had his accident during the night of the Uchiha Massacre he had changed.

He worked harder to raise his class rank, surprisingly hitting just past the middle mark in the class. His scores in both written and practical had risen dramatically, while his prankster spirit had tempered greatly.

He was more serious and focused, but at the same time had still not lost his cheerful disposition, which brought the Aburame an odd sense of comfort.

Hinata was shocked to see the young Shadow Lord's techniques in their first advanced training session. The versatility of his techniques was surprising to the young girl. Both a deadly attack and sturdy defense in almost a single motion.

It was inspiring to the young girl, to see her crush get so much stronger after graduation. It motivated her to work harder on her own abilities, she couldn't be left behind by Naruto.

Unknowing of his teammates' thoughts, Naruto proceeded to use the client's old push mower to start trimming the lawn, the sight of a struggling and grumbling Naruto was what greeted Kurenai as she left the house.

Coming to check on the two boys' progress, she was somewhat surprised to see them essentially finished with their tasks. Taking a moment to watch Naruto maneuver the rusty push mower with some difficulty to finish the lawn, she shouldn't help but shake her head at the boy's situation.

Pausing to hide her amusement at her little genin's problem, she greeted the two boys, "Hey you two. The client will be returning soon, so I wanted to see your progress."

Waving at his sensei, a grumpy Naruto made a teetering motion with his hand, "I'm about done back here, more or less anyways. Just gotta get the front and I'm good."

Shino adjusted his glasses as he spoke up, "My colony has removed all pertinent insects and other pests from the area. Now we simply need to put up deterrence to prevent future infestation."

Nodding to the two, she went back inside to get everything ready for the clients return. It was somewhat unusual for the jonin sensei to be so active for a D-rank mission, but Kurenai felt that her 'hands-on' approach made for higher efficiency.

Even she didn't want to be doing these D-ranks for too much longer.

An hour later and just before lunch, the client finally returned. The wife of a lower council member, the woman had required a great deal of help. Twin births just a few months ago had driven her to a harried state, making her request the mission to get the morning to rejuvenate herself at one of Konoha's delightful spas.

Inspecting the finely trimmed lawn, the well-cleaned house, and her precious little girls' calmly sleeping faces, she was truly happy with the job well done by Team 8.

"Thank you so much! I keep telling my husband to get us a nanny or something, but he is just too cheap to do it!" She heartily shook Kurenai's hand, gleefully happy at the work done. Taking a moment to look at the genin, she noticed Naruto and Shikamaru's disheveled states, "Let me sign the confirmation, you guys look like you need a break."

An accident while cleaning the study of the house left Shikamaru in a poor mood, _'What kind of idiot stacks books on top of magazines like that? Damn near had a full bookcase dropped on my head!' _It was a troublesome mission for the Nara.

Receiving the signed paper from the client, Kurenai and her team bowed in farewell and left the property. Walking in front of the four, Kurenai regarded them for a moment.

If she had to describe their overall appearances, disregarding Shikamaru's glare, then she would have to say they were all bored. Naruto had a grumpy look on his face, with Shino having a barely perceptible frown on his partially covered face. Hinata may have enjoyed taking care of the little ones but even she had a desire for excitement.

Shikamaru just looked like he wanted to take a bath and a nap, probably not in that order.

"How about we call it for the day? I'll go report in to the Mission Office, you guys can head home and relax. I think I'll request something special tomorrow." Perking up at their sensei's words, Shikamaru gladly pounced on the opportunity and hopped off with a quiet goodbye.

A round of sweat drops for the remaining genin as they saw the boy run away, Naruto looked towards Kurenai, "What kind of mission are we doing tomorrow?"

"You'll find out in the morning; I'll need to look over what's available first."

Nodding in understanding the boy turned down the next fork in the road, "Gotcha sensei, I'll see you guys later then." Waving goodbye to Shino and Hinata, he trekked off to get some lunch.

**XxXxXxX**

A nice big meal at Ichiraku's Ramen shop gave the Uzumaki all the energy he needed for the rest of the day. Deciding against running off to train right away, he idly walked about the village to help digest his food.

All around him he could see the villagers going on about their day. Singles, couples, and families spending time together in this afternoon of spring. Soon after he began his walk, he noticed several of the people around him regarded the boy warily, as if he was an explosive tag seconds away from going off.

It was the same for a long as he could remember, people, looking at him like one would a dangerous animal. It used to frustrate him when he experienced it, but now that he knew the truth, he could understand it.

It didn't mean he forgave them for being asshats, but he understood their feelings. It was the ones who looked at him in hatred that he couldn't understand. As if he could control the actions of the Kyuubi before he was born.

The worst looks were the ones he received the most when someone's gaze landed on him, they would go dull and dark. As if they were gazing at a piece of garbage on the road, they would immediately ignore him as if he wasn't there.

They were the hardest to endure because it was as if they were saying 'Why are you even _alive_?'.

Feeling a sense of frustration welling up inside of him, he decided to hop up to the roofs instead. He was foolish to believe that the villagers would behave better just because he was serving the village as a Shinobi now, they still didn't trust him.

'_Bastards, I'll show them… Be happy I'm not the monster you think I am, or else you would all be dead by now.' _These dark thoughts went through his mind as he headed towards his home, no longer feeling as motivated to go training today.

It was the first time in months that the boy had gone out into the village by himself. In his team he was able to avoid the looks, the villagers too distracted by his teammates to care about him. He only ever trained nowadays as well, spending most of his time in the forest or in his room practicing his abilities.

Focusing back on his surrounding once more, Naruto made his way back towards his apartment to get some shadow training done. Hopping over the road, he stopped on the roof of a bar well known around the neighborhood, something interesting was happening below.

His reason for pausing his journey home was a series of loud voices coming from the street below him. Curiosity getting the better of him, he leaned over the side to see what the fuss was about.

He witnessed a group of three men talking loudly as they gathered around a young woman. The three men looked pretty average, run-of-the-mill thugs. The young woman they were accosting looked quite pretty, wearing a traveler's kimono and long hair pulled into a fancy braided ponytail.

Taking in the situation, he used his training to analyze the event. It was just after one, so probably midday drinkers without any self-control. A quick glance around the road showed the odd fact that not a single bystander was willing to interfere with the situation, so maybe the thugs had some clout?

No ninja nearby, from what his limited chakra sense was able to tell. Shadows said as much as well, no one of any real use would be coming to help the young lady. All the people on the road were turning an uncomfortable blind eye to the situation as they passed the four by.

He focused on their voices for a moment to better learn about the situation, "What do you say, missy? Wanna come and play with us?"

"It'll be worth your while."

"Believe us."

Cue the lecherous laughs and overt perverse motions as the three invaded the woman's personal space.

Naruto could only tilt his head in confusion at the scene, _'Uh… since when was life like a manga? Seriously, broad-ass daylight and they're acting out a scene from a frickin' shounen…' _

Shrugging at the sheer stupidity of the event, he stood up and gathered his shadow energy in preparation for handling the situation. Crossing his arms in front of him, he opened his hands as if grasping something.

Below him, two of the men's shadows darkened considerably and a series of hands burst from them to grab ahold of the men. Before they could even comprehend the situation, Naruto closed his fists and thrust his hands down.

The shadows copied his motion and gripped the men to slam them roughly into the dirt. The third man spun around at the sudden noise, only to see his cohorts on the ground in a daze. He never saw the feet dropping on him from above as Naruto stomped the man into the dirt.

Ensuring the three were thoroughly in the lands of dreams now, Naruto turned to offer the young woman a reassuring smile.

"You ok? Looked like you needed a hand there."

Her eyes widened at his rather theatric entrance, the young woman gave the preteen a grateful look, "Oh my! Thank you so much! Those three were so nice at first too... They had been accosting me for so long, I thought no one would come to help me."

She looked around the road and gave the negligent bystanders harsh looks, all of whom quickly vacated the area to avoid her gaze. She quickly turned back to her savior, taking in his features for the first time in full.

A black jacket with dark orange trim over a mesh armor shirt, black pants tied down with combat tape and the usual Shinobi sandals. Mid-length spiky locks fell around his eyes, down to his whiskered cheeks.

Looking into his vibrant azure blue eye, she couldn't help but look at his covered eye in interest. If not for his age, he looked every bit the Shinobi she had always pictured.

As she looked him over, Naruto did the same for her. She was a few years older than him, her figure still filling out from its current modest state. She had a traveling kimono colored mainly orange with yellow flowers adjourning it. Simple sandals on her feet, as well as a small handbag, clutched in her hands.

Her extremely long brown hair was pulled into quite the fancy braid, reaching down to the back of her knees. Her bright brown eyes were looking at him in interest, her face twisted in a cute look of curiosity.

Catching herself staring at the boy, she quickly bowed to him in gratitude, "Oh my, forgive me for staring. It just the first time I've seen a ninja in action."

Naruto simply waved her apologies off, "No problem, it can be rather exciting in a ninja village." He paused for a moment and looked back at the three unconscious men on the ground.

"Maybe we should get out of here…" he muttered idly, watching them twitch and groan in pain.

"Oh! Yes, that would be best, wouldn't it?" she quickly agreed with him, following the genin back towards the safer center of the village.

**XxXxXxX**

A few minutes later and the two arrived at a small café that Team 8 had frequented the last few weeks. Taking a seat at one of the outside tables and quickly ordering some tea, Naruto decided to introduce himself at last to the former damsel in distress.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you." Accompanying his words with a slight bow of the head.

"How I've forgotten my manners! It's a pleasure to meet you Naruto-san, my name is Kimura Tsuya," she once more bowed to the genin.

"So, I gotta ask, how exactly did you end up in that situation? What were you doing there with those guys?" He leaned forward on his elbows as he waited for her answer.

Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, the young woman began her explanation, "My mother and I have been traveling around Hi no Kuni for the last few months for her work. She's an artist you see, we've been traveling around to increase her notoriety by painting the amazing landscapes and famous people of the nation."

Naruto nodded along to her story, seeing this she gave him a smile and continued her tale.

"We made it to Konoha just a few days ago, everything was just so interesting since this is the first Shinobi village I have ever visited. I just had to go out and explore everything," the tea arrived at this point, the two sipping on it as she continued her story with a less than happy look on her face.

"Though today I got a little lost and ended up over there with those men. They were kind at first, showing me around the local restaurants and museums. But they ended up acting way different after we visited one of the museums...

"After that they just kind of followed me around acting like degenerates until we got to that bar and that's when you showed up."

Naruto leaned back in his chair and considered the girl's story. Sudden personality shifts? Could have done some day drinking, they honestly looked the type. But it wasn't fair to judge them simply by that since they had been decent people at first when they lead her around the village.

'_Genjutsu, maybe? But what for? A pair of traveling artists doesn't merit much attention… could they be spies then?' _His eyes narrowed at that thought, his Shinobi paranoia appearing in full force.

'_It could have been a sting by the ANBU… hmm… maybe not… the shadows couldn't find any Shinobi in the immediate area, so who could have been watching the operation?' _shaking his head at his ludicrous thoughts, Naruto decided to put those thoughts behind him.

He could just be overthinking the situation, not everything had hidden layers just because it happens in a ninja village. Returning his attention to Tsuya, he made small talk with the girl as the two enjoyed the tea.

**XxXxXxX**

After some time, Naruto deemed it safe enough to take the girl to her hotel. Ensuring he got a heads up on any potentially bad situations thanks to some happy assistance from the shadows, the genin lead the young teen to her room.

It was one of the nicer hotels in Konoha, one frequented by the affluent visitors and lesser diplomats that would arrive in the village. The two had barely stepped into the lobby when the young girl was quickly grabbed by an older woman.

Naruto could only blink in surprise at the rather amusing situation, watching as Tsuya was twirled about in a bear hug by who he assumed was her mother. She looked exactly like her daughter, only a few years older. Stunningly beautiful and tall, she looked closer to an actress than an artist in her exquisitely designed gold and red kimono.

Setting her daughter down and calming herself, the woman immediately got into her questioning. "Where have you been?! I was so worried!"

Tsuya had a rather guilty look on her face at seeing her mother's distraught face, "I got lost in the village and got into some trouble. But, Naruto-san here was there to save me, I'm ok kaasan!"

"What? What kind of trouble?" Her frantic voice made the girl squeak in surprise as she was jostled. Tsuya immediately explained the situation to her mother, smiling brightly when she got to the parts of her story where Naruto 'gallantly' saved her from the three men.

At the mention of his good deed, the woman turned to regard the young genin. Looking him up and down, she analyzed him for a minute. Feeling rather uncomfortable at her gaze, Naruto couldn't help but fidget in place as he waited for her to speak.

"A little scrawny," the boy twitched at that, "But he looks capable, thank you for keeping my daughter safe." She gave the boy a warm smile and bowed to him in gratitude.

Turning his head to the side, the boy scratched the side of his covered eye idly with a slightly embarrassed blush on his face.

"Y-yeah, it was no problem, it wasn't that difficult."

Smiling at his modest acceptance, she stood up straight once more.

"Still, thank you for keeping her safe. Let me introduce myself, my name is Kimura Midori."

"Ah, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, genin of Konoha." Naruto nodded towards her in greeting.

"A pleasure, Naruto-kun. Please allow me to reward you for keeping my daughter safe." She grabbed the boy's hand with a pleading look on her face.

"Uh… no, that's fine. I don't need any reward; I just did what anyone would have done in that situation." He nervously pulled his hand away and took a step back to get some space.

The woman followed him, a look of determination on her face as she grabbed his hand once more.

"I'm afraid I have to insist, Naruto-kun. There's no telling just what my poor Tsu-chan could have gone through if it wasn't for your help. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing I hadn't rewarded the brave young man who saved my daughter."

Now distinctly uncomfortable at both the woman's insistence and proximity to him, he caved in to her demand.

"If you insist so much, I guess it would be rude to refuse then, huh?"

A bright smile lit up the woman's face as she nodded repeatedly, "Yes, of course! I'll get it prepared right away! I'm sure you'll love it!" with that said, she gave the boy a powerful hug and immediately left to go work on his reward.

Left behind by her mother, Tsuya could only stand in utter silence and humiliation at her mother's actions. Chancing a look at her savior's face, she could see complete confusion at the situation.

"Sorry about that, Kaasan can get a little intense sometimes…"

"Yeah… no kidding."

"So, um… I'm gonna go make sure she doesn't do anything over the top. Have a good night Naruto-san." Giving the boy a parting bow, she quickly left to check on her mother.

Naruto just sat there, red-faced and confounded as the shadows merrily chatted behind him.

_He's… broken…?_

_Interesting… times…_

**XxXxXxX**

The next day came quickly for the blond genin. Making his way home the day previously with the intent on putting the exuberant woman's antics behind him, he relaxed the rest of the day instead of training.

Around dinner time a message from Kurenai popped up by his window, courtesy of the village's avian messenger service. Detailing a meetup time at the tower and to prepare for the special mission she had chosen. Whatever it was it was going to last about 2 or 3 weeks, so he had to prepare for it just like Kurenai taught them.

Waking up extra early this morning, he began by using the method Kurenai showed them. Extra clothes, spare rations, and bedroll/tent along with a few extra dozen kunai and shuriken. Making sure to gather all his supplies for whatever it is they could be doing; he tossed his gear into the shadow inside his pouch and backpack.

Dressed in his typical black and dark orange jacket, mesh armor shirt, and black taped off pants, he double checked his gear one last time and left his apartment. Locking it behind him, he dashed out to the open air and made his way to the Hokage's Tower to meet his team.

As he made his way to the meeting spot, Naruto couldn't help but think about how everything had been progressing since that first training session at the Nara clan's compound.

He had put in dozens of hours a week in his own personal training, not only in his shadowy control but also his chakra control. He had made fantastic progress in his discovered chakra control exercise, now fully capable of running around the side of cliffs and trees as if he were on the ground.

Likewise, he had progressed in the sand pillar exercise given by his baker friend, achieving the Ryo sized pillar just this week. He made a mental note to ask Kurenai for more control exercises after the mission.

Speaking of Kurenai, she had certainly put them through more advanced exercises after their first few weeks. Advanced combat tactics, stronger exercises to boost their physical capabilities, strategy meetings, and many others to come.

His shadow abilities had grown in leaps and bounds as well. Showcased by his knockout technique used yesterday, he no longer had to take a good amount of time to gather his energy. He was also discovering how to make more flowing attacks, learning to manipulate the shadows to fight with simple movements. Not really true newly created jutsu, but a kind of supplemental mid-range style he was slowly building up.

He felt he had really improved with his training, much of it thanks to his sensei. He was definitely going to get her a gratitude present one of these days.

Finally arriving at the tower, he saw his kunoichi teammate waiting in front by herself. Landing quietly next to her, he let out a quiet "Good morning, Hinata-chan."

The surprised girl let out a quiet squeak as she jumped to face her teammate. Face flushed at his sudden arrival; she pressed her index fingers together as she gave him a shy greeting.

"G-good morning, Naruto-kun."

"You been here long?"

"N-no, maybe a few minutes."

"Good, any idea what the mission is about? Kurenai's message was kind of vague." He leaned against the wall next to the girl as he spoke.

Hinata shook her head, "I'm not sure… Shino-kun thought it might be a C-rank though."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, "Really? When did he say that?"

"Five minutes ago, Naruto-san."

Holding back a yelp of surprise, Naruto spun around to see his Aburame teammate standing next to him.

"Whoa! When did you show up?" He pointed at the quiet brunette animatedly.

Readjusting his sunglasses, Shino spoke in a faintly irritated voice, "I have been here for some time, could it be that you failed to notice me, Naruto-san?"

"No way, bud! I just… uh…" Feeling at a loss for words, Naruto nervously looking at the insect wielder and slowly dropped his hand. He decided to turn back to Hinata instead.

"C-rank huh? Sounds like fun, I wonder what they'll make us do for that."

Behind them, Shino let out a quiet grunt of irritation and sulked away from the two. This was something that kept happening lately was he blending too well?

Ignoring the sulking Shino, the other two chatted amiably about the possible missions until the remainder of their team arrived. Some time had passed, almost 20 minutes after the meeting time and the three were getting curious about their missing team's whereabouts.

Kurenai was almost compulsively on time and punctual in her meetings, so it was something to note when she was late.

Soon the three saw two figures walking towards them, walking lethargically behind Kurenai was a certain lazy Nara, who was already yawning and grumbling this morning. Kurenai had a slightly miffed look on her own face, no doubt the Nara's fault.

"Good morning guys, sorry about the late arrival. Shikamaru failed to wake up this morning and his mother had me come pick him up."

She ignored the scoff and muttered 'troublesome woman…' behind her.

"No problem Sensei, we haven't been waiting that long," Naruto reassured her as Hinata and Shino stood beside him.

"Great, let's head inside. The clients will be waiting with Hokage-sama."

Following their teacher, Team 8 made their way to the VIP section of the mission disbursement office. Getting the Ok from the receptionist, the five entered the meeting room to see their aged leader.

Sitting at the long meeting table, they saw Hiruzen chatting amiably with a beautiful woman and another young girl. Both were dressed in vibrantly colored outfits, the older woman in a red flowery kimono, while the younger was in a kimono with orange with blue bird designs.

Naruto's eye widened significantly as the three turned to greet Team 8.

_Fun… times… incoming…_

_Indeed…_

"Ah, Team 8 has finally arrived." Hiruzen had an amused look on his face as he saw the young Uzumaki's face.

"Fantastic! I'm so excited to get going!" The woman was positively ecstatic at seeing the team enter.

Bowing in greeting, Kurenai had her team lined up behind her as she greeted their future clients.

"Team 8 reporting for Duty, Hokage-sama."

The younger woman stood up and smiled brightly as she greeted them, her eyes lighting up upon spotting the gaping Uzumaki, "Wonderful, it's great to see you again, Naruto-kun! We'll be in your care." With that, she bowed to the confused Team 8.

'_What…?'_

**XxXxXxX**

**Well, there it is people! Super sorry about the late update, it was my 2****nd**** anniversary this weekend, so my wife commandeered all my time.**

**Tropey mission setups are tropey, eh? It's pretty standard, but the way things will play out, not so much. Trust me?**

**Growing stronger over time, it is finally to the point when the inevitable C-ranks begins! Will the dire 'first mission curse' hit again?**

**Yes… yes, it will…**

**Because conflict makes the story fun, and it's time to showcase our favorite blond's growth! Is anyone excited to see what tricks he's come up with?**

**He's been a genin for about 7 weeks now, one more until the king comes back to check on him. Will the king be happy once more, or does he still have much to learn?**

**I'm thinking a week until the next update, look forward to it, eh?**

**Review, if you please and I'll see you in the next one.**


	8. A Fateful Encounter

**Howdy ya'll, how you been? Good times all around, right?**

**I got a sunburn last weekend, just now getting over it. The sun is a bitch, but the beach is so much fun. The price we pay for entertainment, huh?**

**So, its C-rank mission time! Who's excited? I know I am. **

**I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show!**

**XxXxXxX**

**Chapter 7**

**A Fateful Encounter**

Naruto couldn't help but grumble as he fiddled about with his new cloak, a gift from Team 8's client for this C-rank mission. Of all the people to do a C-rank for, what were the odds of it being someone he had _just_ saved their daughter the day before?

He wasn't too upset about it since a C-rank was still a C-rank after all. Nor was he unhappy with their clients, the charming mother/daughter pair made for excellent company. No, the problem he was having right now was the fact that the C-rank escort mission was almost as mind-numbingly boring as D-ranks were before.

He sat on top of the carriage his client used to travel around the country. Team 8 had been out on the road for a few hours now, it being just after lunch at this time. Hinata was inside with the clients, her byakugan activating intermittently to check the perimeter. Meanwhile, Shino and Shikamaru were with the other merchant caravan that was tagging along with them.

Naruto turned to see Shino up front with the driver, while Shikamaru was lazing about on top of the covered goods in the back. Waving at the two, he got responding waves back. It was all clear for them too, the team's first C-rank was well underway.

Apparently, Midori had made friends with a merchant who wanted to head to the same destination. Since this wasn't expected to be an intense mission, they just had to pay a bonus fee and Team 8 got put in charge of two parties.

The excitement of leaving the village for copious amounts of travel had long since vanished. Sighing as he looked at the wilderness around him, he attempted to spot anything in the trees to occupy his time. Again, finding his field of view absent of anything noteworthy, he once more went about messing with his newest addition to his outfit.

Midori had been highly appreciative of the boy's actions the previous day, as such she had decided to get him a reward befitting his accomplishments. Being talked out of a lavish outfit by her daughter, she decided to gather more information on the boy. Talking to the aged Hokage as she attempted to set up her escort mission gave her an idea and let her kill two birds with one stone.

'_I guess this is kind of cool, definitely better than anything I have.' _He thought as he admired the cloak.

Pitch black cloth with numerous ceramic plates, metal rings, and special chakra-sensitive threads interwoven throughout the cloak. It had protection from stabbing attacks, blunt force was better negated as well. It didn't cover his body fully, just over his arms and upper legs. He supposed it was some combination of shawl/cloak that was surprisingly light, breezy and sturdy.

It had a rather narrow hood, which he was currently using to stave off the bright sun. Shadowing his face, he decided it was a good gift and he should be appreciative of it. Simply gazing about the horizon for a while, he soon realized that his behind was decidedly numb from sitting for so long. As such, Naruto hopped up to his feet and jumped down to walk beside the moving carriage in an attempt of alleviating his problem.

"Something wrong Naruto?" the voice of his teacher sounded out behind him.

Turning to the woman, he gave out a dry chuckle, "No, not really, but I'm starting to go numb from sitting up there for so long."

Amusement on her face, Kurenai nodded at his statement, "I see, well if you want to get moving to get the blood flowing, go ahead and scout out ahead. The reports from this upcoming area state that there's been an increase in animal attacks around here. Although they aren't very clear on what kind of animal it is."

"Really? Alright, I'll take a look around." Saluting the woman, he turned and ran off ahead of the caravan.

"Will he be ok, Kurenai-san?"

The jonin turned to see the younger of the two Kimura women looking at her in concern from the open window of the carriage.

"Naruto has made amazing progress in his training so far; some wolves or bears won't be a big threat to him. Besides I doubt we'll run into anything too dangerous out on the main road, the daimyo has his militia run patrols every so often. It's about as safe as could be, given the circumstances."

Nodding at the reassurance of Team 8's commander, Tsuya turned back to the inside of the carriage. She found her mother fawning over the cute kunoichi set to guard them, the red-faced Hinata on the woman's lap as she messed with the genin's hair.

Making eye contact with the poor girl, Tsuya could see the plea for help. She could only sweatdrop at her mother's enthusiasm.

'_I only turned away for a minute…' _

She sighed at her mother's antics and moved to help the genin, _'Be careful, Naruto-kun…'_

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto was decidedly happier with scouting around than sitting sentry on top of a carriage. Jumping through the trees he looked every direction for any clues of living creatures nearby. A cursory search near the main road didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary. Though he did spot some old wheel tracks, probably a day old from the indentations, and what looked like deer droppings. Nothing that would have alarms going off though.

Thinking for a moment, Naruto came up with an idea.

Taking a minute to stop, he looked at the caravan far behind him. His _Vanishing Step _technique was fantastic for long distance traveling, allowing him extreme speed movement for decent bursts at a time. All the while he was barely feeling any stamina drain from the few miles he had traveled. Checking the distance to the caravan, he was certain he was out of range for Hinata's doujutsu. No need for the girl to see this jutsu of his, plus it had been a while since he brought out his beasts.

Holding his hand out he let out his command, **"Come out!"**

His shadow expanded and the faint howls of animals could be heard from an unknown source around him. Rising from the darkness were three large creatures, each covered in a black smoke while faint blue energy wafted off their forms. The three shadow wolves stood at attention before the young Shadow Lord, awaiting his commands.

Giving his shadow beasts a grin Naruto began speaking, "Hey guys, been a while huh?" the three bowed their heads in greeting, "Alright, since it's been so long since you stretched your legs, how about you guys sniff around? See if there's anything around here that can threaten that caravan."

Pointing at the minuscule caravan a distance away over his shoulder with his thumb, he watched as the three former wolves nodded and dispersed. Each had assumed a vague almost liquid-like smoky form as they vanished and reappeared throughout the shaded forest, reforming into their solid forms to pause at certain places to smell the air or scrutinize a marking.

While his wolves scouted out the forest floor, Naruto grabbed his canteen to take a swig. Hi no Kuni was normally such a nice temperate country, it was surprising just how hot it was today. Even if they were heading south towards the coast, it was still hotter than normal. Deciding to snack a little, he brought out a piece of jerky to chew on while he moved on.

The rapid flutter of wings was his only warning, the boy diving backward as a large bird slashed through the branch he had been on. He looked at the creature in surprise, seeing what seemed to be a falcon of some kind hover 10 feet in front of him.

It was certainly bigger than anything he had ever seen though, almost 4 feet in height with a massive 12-foot wingspan. Primarily brown in color, he saw a white underbelly and razor-sharp talons gripping his recently dropped jerky.

"Oi! What the hell?" he paused as he saw his snack, "Hey, that's my jerky!" letting out a petulant cry, the boy glared daggers at the oversized bird.

Said bird seemed to regard the boy for a moment, before dismissing him and letting out a loud cry. The bird flapped its powerful wings and flew to a nearby branch to chow down on its pilfered snack. Twitching in irritation from the lack of respect from the bird, Naruto decided he needed a new shadow beast.

"Alright you oversized pigeon, I'm gonna guess you're the one attacking people around here. So that means I get to take you down." He grinned at the prospect of taking the bird down a notch.

Pulling his eyepatch off, Naruto revealed his shadowy eye. As he pushed some of his chakra into the shadow-filled socket, it began to glow ominously in the shadow-filled forest canopy. Feeling the dark energy flow through his body once more, he brought his hands out and activated one of his newest techniques.

"_Inton: Dark Containment Barrier!" _At his command, dozens of shadows shot out from their surroundings to cover the two in a large shadowy dome. Blocking out all light, the bird let out cries of distress as it attempted to escape the dome. It crashed into the walls of the barrier itself to no effect before it flew away slamming into trees.

Created with his team's strengths in mind, it was a useful barrier to restrict movement. Just enough light and shadows to give Shikamaru plenty to work with while allowing Shino's insects to easily swarm any opponent trapped within. Hinata was just as apt within the barrier, her Byakugan allowing sight and her lithe form a stealthy assault that would badger any foe into defeat.

Truly a useful jutsu to contain the battle to a smaller area, just what he needed against agile foes like this beast. The thickness of the shadows only allowed the barest of light to shine through, though with his shadow eye it may as well as be broad daylight for him. His opponent had sharp eyes as well so it may not have been as disadvantaged as possible. Nevertheless, his opponent was not able to move around as much now, so he still had a decent advantage.

His foe flapped its wings in a powerful gust, flying around the barrier at breakneck speeds. Naruto watched in awe as the bird's wings sliced through tree trunks and branches like a scythe through wheat. _'How is it doing that?' _slicing the top off a tree, the bird landed on its new perch and switched its gaze onto the genin.

Understanding that his opponent was facing him now instead of escaping, Naruto readied himself to fight the enraged animal. He reached into his pouch's shadow and grabbed a kunai in one hand, a fistful of shuriken in his other. Setting his feet to have a better position in case he needed to dodge, Naruto waited for his avian opponent to make their move.

He didn't need to wait long, as with a narrowing of its predatory gaze and loud screech, the large falcon burst forward with shocking speed. Better prepared for its fleet movements, Naruto waited until his opponent was mere feet away before he fell backward on his branch. Using chakra to keep his feet connected he spun around the branch as if he were on a fulcrum, allowing the bird to fly harmlessly overhead.

Deftly swinging himself back up he jumped behind the bird of prey. A quick swipe of his kunai and he managed to get a thin cut along the back of the avian's torso, causing it to let out a pained shriek. It quickly flapped its wings and turned back to him once more, this time aiming for his branch instead of his body. Throwing his shuriken as a distraction, Naruto was surprised to see the metal blades bounce harmlessly off the feathers of his opponent's front.

Even the two that hit the front of its wings simply bounced off as if they were paper toys, almost as if the bird had hardened its body to iron-like density. So surprised was the Uzumaki that he failed to react in time as the bird swooped in to send him and his perch crashing to the ground. Managing to turn his flailing fall into a passable tumble, the boy rolled a few times and eventually made it back to his feet.

He once more jumped into the trees, using his kunai to slash at the bird's wing in an attempt at ending the fight. Only to widen his eyes once more as his blade screeched against the wing as if it were steel itself, getting disarmed and once more being knocked for a loop. Landing in the branches of another tree, Naruto steadied himself and shook out his hand to rid it of the numbing pain.

"OK! What the hell is going on?!" He cried out in surprise, "Is this stupid thing using chakra?! What is it, a summon?" He could faintly feel the bird reinforcing its feathers and light body with the life energy, somehow gaining immense defense despite its natural fragility.

_Not… summon…_

_Chakra… mutation…_

Eyes widening at the shadows' whispered theories, Naruto could only gape as he dodged out of the way of another divebomb from his feathered foe.

Of course, he would face an animal chakra mutation, it was just his luck!

Chakra mutations were a somewhat recent occurrence in the shinobi world. The result of animals procreating in an area of large shinobi-based conflict, the kind that left lasting chakra impressions on the land from hard-fought battles.

If memory served, this far south was near one of the old Senju-Uchiha battlegrounds from back in the Warring Clans Era. That would have certainly left behind potent residual chakra on the land, but there would have _definitely_ been more chakra mutations if the left behind chakra was this strong….

Thoughts to reflect on later, as he needed to dodge those deadly talons once more. This time jumping straight up, he vaulted over the angry bird. Focusing his energy to his left arm, he willed the shadow from his cloak to fly from his forearm and latch onto the creature as it passed below him.

It let out a surprised squawk as the shadowy lasso wrapped around its throat. The creature was forced to fly in place lest it snap its own neck from the force of its ascent. Naruto took advantage of his hovering opponent and pulled hard, propelling himself toward his opponent. Landing on the bird's back, he was quietly amazed that it was fully capable of maintaining flight with him on top of it.

Even as he unleashed a multitude of blows onto the oversized falcon's head and back, it maintained its flight. However, it soon became dazed by the powerful blows and could no longer put enough focus into its movements to maintain altitude. Diving down, it quickly flew into a spiral to try and throw the genin off its back. Gritting his teeth as the centrifugal force tried to throw him loose, he crouched lower to maintain his balance.

Seeing the ground coming up at blistering speeds, the falcon immediately pulled up. The whiplash from the sudden move nearly threw the boy off, only the strength of his grip on the feathers and his shadowy tether kept him attached. His feet dangling dangerously over the side of the beast, Naruto was getting tired as he held on for dear life.

He needed to get the stupid thing onto the ground, he'd be able to finish it then. But the problem was, how in Kami's name was he going to do it?

His silent prayers were answered in the form of a multitude of growls and howls. From all around him his shadow wolves suddenly burst from the forest canopy. A burning rage in their collective eyes at this beast's unyielding defiance of their Lord, they pounced with reckless abandon.

Two wolves flew from the sides, narrowly missing the bird but forcing it to change its direction and slow down. The two landed down below on the forest floor, soon chasing after the distraught chakra mutated beast. Naruto heard movement from above and quickly readied himself for his last shadow beast's attack.

He waited only a few seconds before his final shadow wolf flew down from above, his fangs latching onto the falcon's right wing like a vice. Though its grip only lasted for a second, before the falcon's reinforcement technique tore straight through the wolf's head. It was long enough, with the sudden added weight throwing the bird of prey into a deadly tailspin.

Getting thrown from his opponent, Naruto let out a cry of surprise even as his other two shadow beasts caught him before he could impact the ground. The same could not be said for his opponent, who collided into the harsh environment with a disturbing crunch.

"Whew, thanks, boys. That was getting tiresome." Giving his minions his gratitude, Naruto regained his footing and quickly made his way to his fallen foe.

The oversized mutation had collided bodily with a fallen tree, shearing through it to slam into the large boulder behind it. Despite the impact, he could see it still in decent enough fighting shape though heavily concussed from the landing.

Deciding enough was enough, Naruto called one of his beasts to his side. Vanishing to form a smoky vapor around his arm, Naruto dashed forward and slammed his darkened fist as hard as he could into the bird's chest.

"_Inton: Shadow Beast Blast!" _With a mighty cry, he propelled his beast into his opponent's body.

The disturbing squelching was music to his ears as his beast burrowed in his foe's chest cavity. The bird let out a pained screech as its reinforcement technique failed to protect it, a bulbous mass rippling its way through its torso. A few moments later and his shadow wolf once more solidified itself, ripping its way out of the falcon in a gratuitous shower of blood and gore.

Naruto panted as he stood outside the splash zone of his attack, watching as his wolf once more assumed its vapor/liquid state to remove the viscera from its body and returned to his side. Letting out a tired chuckle, the genin happily patted the wolf's head in reward.

"That was way harder than it should have been, but we won in the end. Good job guys." His soldiers clearly appreciated his praise, their tails wagging as if they were gleeful puppies.

Turning to the heavily damaged corpse of his opponent, Naruto was ecstatic to see the telltale black mist and blue energy already wafting from the remains. Letting out a victorious laugh, he grinned madly as his eye glowed brightly in his darkened battleground.

Throwing his hand out towards the corpse he let out a single command.

"**Arise!"**

…

The shadows surrounding the bird's corpse darkened considerably, covering it as loud screaming and screeches could be heard from unknown locations around him. He let loose a delighted smirk as the shadowy form of his newest soldier burst from the congealed shadows.

Landing from its impromptu flight, the massive bird stood before it's Lord with head bowed in deference. Though prideful in life, it could only feel true ecstasy at being called back from the abyss to serve the shinobi before it.

Standing at just over 6 feet tall from head to deadly talon, the falcon had grown in size just as the wolves had done before. Black smoke streamed from its form, a large crossing X on its chest leaking blue energy around it. Its eye glowed the same bright blue as the others, it's gaze focused solely on its new master.

"-whistles- Damn, you are huge! Looks like we got a new comrade today, eh guys?"

His beasts all let out howls and cries of exuberance at their Lord's declaration, each feeling true happiness at his joy. Gazing appreciatively at the bird's form, Naruto nodded in satisfaction at the hard-fought spoils of this battle.

"Alright guys, time to get back to the others." Bows of respect and quiet noises were his response, as the shadow wolves once more dived in his shadow for future use. The large bird was left in front of the boy, waiting but a moment before it too transformed into a formless mist and sank into the boy's shadow.

Grinning at his latest conquest, Naruto ended his shadow barrier jutsu to once more enter the light of day. Pulling his eyepatch back into place, he gazed about the battlefield in the daylight to assess the damages done.

Numerous trees were felled by the bird, the branches sheared clean through a great amount leaving odd looking bald spots in the treetops. Spotting the heavily damaged remains in the daylight, Naruto let out a distasteful sneer at the results of his jutsu.

"Definitely don't want to be anywhere near someone when I use that one, practically a shower of blood all over the place."

Indeed, it looked like the scene out of a horror movie, the bird's chest and throat was torn apart from the inside out. It would have caused a great many to turn green in disgust at the brutality, though a shinobi would only see the results of a successful use of a deadly technique.

"Holy hell, Naruto, what the hell did that thing do to you? Looks like something left over after an Akimichi thanksgiving." A rather shocked voice sounded out behind the boy.

Turning to greet his surprised teammate, Naruto nervously scratched the side of his head with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe me if I told you how tough this thing was."

"Looking at this place, I highly doubt that."

"Chakra mutations are notoriously stronger than their mundane counterparts, no doubt Naruto-san had to use excessive force for good reason." The monotone and analytical voice of their Aburame teammate sounded out from above the two. Both turned to see the bespectacled genin standing above them while inspecting one of the trees torn apart by the falcon's attacks.

"Oh yeah, this was one tough bastard. He ignored kunai and shuriken like they were plushies, had to bust out the big guns to break through his defenses." Naruto nodded to himself, idly stretching out his arms.

"Is that so? Well tell us about it on the way back, you were taking so long that Kurenai-sensei had us stop a mile back to come check on you."

Nodding at the Nara's words, the Uzumaki lead the trio back towards the caravan. Along the way he regaled them with a somewhat edited version of his battle with the mutated beast, all the while hearing the shadows around them congratulate him on his victory.

**XxXxXxX**

Sometime later the caravan stopped to make camp, now only a day's travel from the next town, a nice mid-sized trade hub called Kyoshi. Reporting his combat to Kurenai upon arrival, the civilian clients were thoroughly impressed with the boy's prowess. Chakra mutated animals were uncommon to see, much less for one to meet a _genin_ capable enough to defeat one by himself.

The jonin had properly praised the boy for his victory over his mutated opponent, though had lightly admonished him for combating an unknown by himself. She was more forgiving since the boy would have not had much of a chance to make it back to the caravan without fighting the beast, having been several miles ahead of the caravan during the fight.

Taking the boy's full report, she decided to send a message back to Konoha to inform them of the presence of chakra mutations in the region. No doubt there could be more in the area if this one had grown so large. A subjugation order would likely be put out for one of the chunin squads to go hunt out the nests.

Sometime later they had made camp for the night, the two carriages drawn to the side of the road in a decent sized clearing. The horses were tied up to the side, allowed some freedom as they snacked on oats and drank from their water troughs.

Eyeing the beasts of burden, Naruto idly wondered how useful it would be to have one as a shadow beast. Shadow beasts didn't tire and couldn't die, reforming so long as he had the chakra available. No doubt they were faster than their mundane counterparts as well.

Pushing those thoughts for another time, he refocused on his newest acquisition. He needed to test out his newest minion, whom he probably should name eventually. If he could fly on the back of the beast, he would have a massive boost in mobility compared to other shinobi. Such a boon was amazing to have so early in his shinobi career, though he was rather unwilling to show off his beasts so early.

"How about I name you Gou? You were so strong it took a boulder to knock you down and you could still keep going." He could feel his newest minion radiate happiness at the name, proudly accepting his new moniker. Smiling to himself at the acceptance, Naruto soon turned his thoughts to other less savory things.

There was no telling what some of the more… unscrupulous higher-ups in the village would do if it was discovered his beasts weren't summons, but the dead brought back to serve him. It left him in a state of paranoia at times, never knowing if someone would figure it out before he was strong enough to deter any undue manipulations.

Sighing to himself, he decided to try and relax from these stressful thoughts. Gazing at the fire in the center of the circle of chairs/stumps they had used earlier for dinner, he reminisced to himself on his earlier battle with the powerful beast.

As Naruto was distracted by his thoughts, he failed to notice a figure approaching him from behind until they were nearly upon him. He almost jumped when a dainty hand lightly brushed his shoulder. Turning around to face the person responsible for his minor heart attack, he spotted Hinata meekly standing behind him.

"A-ano, sorry Naruto-kun. Your watch is over, i-its my turn for the night." She squeaked out quietly once she had his attention.

"Jeez, between you and Shino I don't know who is stealthier. Always scaring a year off my life, I'm going to go gray being on this team." He joked good-naturedly, lightly patting the girl on the back as he stood up.

He failed to notice the girl's face turn red as a tomato at his touch, her eyes fluttering for a moment as she struggled to not faint in his presence.

"Good night then, Hinata-chan. Give me a holler if you need a nap or something, Kami knows Shikamaru ain't waking up until Kurenai kicks him awake in the morning." There was a reason the Nara was the first to take guard duty. Though after Hinata it would be Kurenai finishing up, so unless the girl was remarkably tired Naruto wouldn't be up again that night.

"H-hai, Naruto-kun. Good night…" at her quiet farewell, Naruto walked towards the tent the genin shared. Picking a spot on the other side of the sleeping Nara, he grabbed his sleeping bag and quickly went to sleep.

Left alone to her own devices the girl took a few breaths to try and calm herself down. Though she had grown in great strides to be more tolerant of her crush's close proximity, she still had her moments of weakness. Especially when he looked so cool as he walked off, his earlier heroics in defeating the chakra mutated animal going through her mind.

'_Could I one day be as strong as Naruto-kun…? To be able to confidently fight one of those things by myself?' _the girl's thought swirled in her mind as she imagined about just how far she still had to go to walk alongside her crush. Watching the dying embers of the fire, the girl contemplated her future for some time as the dark night continued on.

**XxXxXxX**

The next morning started bright and early for Team 8, a deft kick and splash of water easily awaking the hardest of sleepers amongst them. Having a decent breakfast along with the irate grumbles of the Nara, the civilians merrily chatted with their guardians as the sun rose towards its peak of the morning.

Once more taking their places at their assigned carriages, they all began their trek once more towards their first destination. The excitement of the day before leading them toward looking forward to what the rest of the trip had to offer, they moved on bright eyed and bushy tailed.

None had realized that just outside the range of Hinata's Byakugan at the perfect angle did two dark figures watch as they moved on down the road. Hidden in the shadows of the tallest treetops, their gaze flitting between both carriages, they narrowed their eyes on the boy sitting on guard duty on top of the front carriage.

"So, he defeated Experiment F-3, eh?" one asked quietly. He quietly read the intercepted report from the team in the distance, easily obtained by man of his caliber the night before.

"Indeed, rather surprising given the base material for it. Implanted with a ninja's chakra network it should have easily cut through the boy's weapons." The other spoke with detached indifference.

"Another failure then?"

"Perhaps, nevertheless it's still a step in the right direction."

"Of course. Should we do something about them?"

"Hmm…" the figure hummed in thought for a moment, before shrugging their shoulders in dismissal, "It's doubtful they'll be bothersome in the future, but have our associates in Kyoshi keep an eye on them. No need for them to stumble onto things before they're ready, right?"

"Of course, I'll contact them immediately."

With that one of the figures vanished from the trees, leaving the other alone in his observations. Watching as the caravan vanished over the horizon, the figure couldn't help but smirk in anticipation.

"To think, and here I thought this assignment would be too easy… Let's see just what you can do, little _shade_…" a moment later, and this figure also vanished from sight. Not a trace was left as the wind blew ominously through the trees.

**XxXxXxX**

**OOOHHH, the plot thickens! Mysterious strangers planning stuff, secret experiments run by shady individuals or organizations…**

…**one even knows about our dear young shade… whatever will happen next?**

**Find out next time on DRAGON BA-oops, not that one…. Uh, Legend of The Shadow Lord!**

**Yeah… that's the one…**

**How was the fight? Understand how it all played out nice enough? Our boys got some moves huh? **

**If you think he struggled a bit too much, just remember that it's always a bitch to fight against flying enemies in this world, just look at Deidara, smarmy bastard that he is.**

**Also, in case you were curious, Gou has a plethora of meanings to it, it means a person who is strong and powerful just like a mountain, depending on the kanji used could possibly translate to strong, tremendous, understand and wing.**

**Surprisingly fits huh? Sometimes I get lucky when I pick names.**

**Anyways! Review if you please, I'd greatly appreciate it!**

**As always, thanks for reading and I'll see you guys next time.**


	9. The First Destination

**Here we are once more party people! Another chapter of my little idea, let's see how it goes, eh?**

**Time to see how this part plays out, lets hope all ends well huh?**

**Just noticed that I ask a lot of questions in these…**

**I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show!**

**XxXxXxX**

**Chapter 8**

**The First Destination**

_Kyoshi_

_Day 2, Afternoon_

Arriving at just after 2 in the afternoon, Team 8 and their clients finally made it to their first destination. Kyoshi was a well-established hub of activity in the southeastern area of HI no Kuni. An important trade route for sea imports such as those far farther to the southwest from Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves), along with direct land routes that came from the neighboring countries of Kawa no Kuni (Land of Rivers) and Tanima no Kuni (Land of Valleys).

The lovely city was also a hotspot for tourism as well. Being segmented by a very unique river that cut the city into a few parts. The northern section was the largest of the city, as such it had the markets, hotels, restaurants, overall the greatest visitor count was in this section. The center was for other businesses, usually trades such as craftsmen or other similar services. The lower section housed the residential sections, well-kept homes that showcased how comely the city was.

Curving through the city like a swirling square 'S', the so-called 'Spiral Key River' was a popular attraction. It was fed from the nearby mountains to the northeast of the city, where it would travel to the south towards the Hi no Kuni Bay. The city made great use of this amazing phenomena, using the river for transportation of goods and people to a great many locations throughout the city and beyond.

Eventually, the traveling group would make their way through this intriguing city, each gazing about in quiet awe and interest. The mother/daughter duo that was their client could hardly contain themselves at the incredible sight of the city's famous river. It took some quick reminders by Kurenai of their schedule to get the two back on track and heading towards the first drop off.

Arriving at the edge of a bustling market at the southern edge of the market district, the team stopped and helped unload their secondary client at his store. Naruto and his team waved farewell to the merchant that had tagged along on their C-rank mission. With a signature of completion on the mission scroll, the group continued on towards their next destination in the northern parts of the city.

As they escorted their remaining client to the inn, they'd be staying at for the next few days, Naruto only had one thought going through his mind.

'_I never actually got that guy's name or even talked to him….' _

Did that make him a bad bodyguard?

…

…

…

Eh, whatever. He wasn't that important.

Arriving at the inn, the genin helped the driver get the carriage and horses situated at the stables while Kurenai escorted Midori and Tsuya to go check in. Bidding the driver farewell the four decided to hang about the open stalls of the horses to relax and wait for Kurenai. Lightly patting one of the horse's neck as he fed it some hay, Naruto turned to the rest of his team.

"Does it feel like this is going too smoothly or something?" he began.

"_-yawn- _What are you talking about?" His lazy teammate replied from his seat on a bale of hay.

"I mean that other than running into an oversized, chakra wielding demon-bird that this mission is super easy. I spend half the day on my ass staring at the forest."

Hinata turned away from lightly petting the other horse and tilted her head in confusion at the Uzumaki's declaration, "W-what did you expect, Naruto-kun?"

"Seriously, it's a C-rank mission man. It's not supposed to be action packed, otherwise, it'd be B or A-ranked." The Nara rubbed his neck as he gave the boy a quizzical look.

Scratching the side of his head idly, Naruto couldn't help but shrug. "I don't really know, I guess I expected something _more_, ya know?"

Regarding his teammate coolly, Shino simply nodded at the Uzumaki's words. "I believe I understand Naruto-san's sentiment; this mission has gone rather well so far. Though there is still plenty of time for that situation to change."

Naruto nodded along to the Aburame's words, there was still plenty of time for shit to hit the fan. "Yeah, I guess you have a point, we still have like 2 weeks left in the contract…"

Nodding at the Uzumaki's reluctant admittance, Shino suddenly recalled something that could uplift the boy's spirits. "Though there is something my father often spoke of when we first graduated and became Team 8."

"Really, what's that?" The blond was intrigued at the quiet genin's words.

Seeing he had his team's full attention, Shino readjusted his sunglasses and regaled them with what he knew.

"He told me of a common superstition among the older shinobi of the village. Known as the 'First C-Rank Curse' he spoke of how many rookie genin teams seem to often have their first C-ranks go through disastrous events. My father told me of a jonin friend of his who ran into one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist on their first C-Rank as a genin."

His team responded as expected, their eyes widening at the prospect. The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were legendary ninja who wielded powerful weapons. Even the weakest amongst them was an A-Rank threat that required the most elite of shinobi to bring down. The less said about the most powerful ones, the better.

"-_whistles- _Wow, imagine running into one of those tough bastards on your first C-Rank. I'd probably wet myself a little." Naruto admitted unabashedly, the thought of how strong such an opponent was could make anyone quiver in fear. Hinata blushed at the crass statement, but nodded in agreement anyway, they definitely weren't ready to face those monsters.

"Yeah, so be glad we have it easy Naruto, don't go begging for trouble. Never know when you'll get your wish." Shikamaru grumbled out, personally happy the mission was going so smoothly.

"Indeed, such an opponent would put us all in dire straits. Though I am confident in Kurenai-sensei's abilities, I doubt she could defend us all in such intense combat." Shino remarked with a tone of finality.

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence Shino-kun. Hopefully, it'll be a few years before we ever have to worry about those kinds of situations."

The four turned to the outside to see Kurenai standing there with their two clients behind her, a rather happy smile on her face. Moving from their various positions in the horse stalls, the genin stood in front of the jonin in a disciplined line.

Naruto gave the woman a thumbs up, "Don't worry sensei, we know you're tough enough to handle one of those bastards."

With the others voicing their agreement, Kurenai couldn't help the small blush on her face her genin's belief in her. Coughing to reset her normal cool visage, she gave the genin a grateful smile.

"I know Naruto-kun, I appreciate it, you guys. Anyways, Midori-san wants to stay here for 3 days since there are a few locations she desires to visit."

At this, the attractive artist nodded merrily and spoke up, "Yeah! There's an amazing waterfall up in the mountains at the start of the river through town I want to see. Plus, the cliffs on the west side of the city get amazing landscape scenes, especially at sunset." The woman continued for some time, listing all manner of places she wanted to go see and paint.

Her daughter merely had a strained smile on her face behind the excited woman, _'Just how much does she think we'll see in three days?' _She looked and saw the genin giving her mother incredulous looks, no doubt having the same thoughts as her.

Taking the conversation from her mother, the young Tsuya coughed to gather the attention, "Actually, how about we just relax for now? It's been a long day of traveling; we can go sightseeing tomorrow Kaa-san."

Broken from her speech, Midori looked over the genin and nodded understandingly.

"Of course, we can save all that for tomorrow! I bet you guys are tired, we can relax tonight and go out later." She quickly acquiesced to her daughter's reasoning, looking at the genin kindly.

Midori looked at them for a few moments before she suddenly developed a glint her eye, she quickly led her daughter a few feet away from the group. The mother and daughter faced away from them and spoke in hushed tones for a few moments before they turned back to the curious shinobi. With a disarming smile on their faces, they bowed politely to the team and the two quickly went back inside, leaving the rest of Team 8 standing in confusion at this turn of events.

"…I guess you guys can have some free time now, if you want," Kurenai stated plainly, unsure of what to do now that their clients had run off.

"Well… ok then…" Naruto began, smacking his lips in the new awkwardness, "You wouldn't happen to have any training we could do while we're here, would you?"

He ignored the near silent groan and whispered, _'Shut up, you blond bastard!' _from behind him.

Turning to regard her genin for a few moments, she saw 3 out of 4 of them perfectly willing to start training, almost eager-looking to get started. Kurenai took a thoughtful pose for a bit before raising her finger with a sudden epiphany.

"Well, I think it's about time to get you guys started on the tree climbing exercise. Since we'll be here for a few days we can begin that between outings." She couldn't help the amused look on her face as her students gave her confused looks, only Naruto having somewhat of an understanding look on his face.

"Tree climbing? H-how will that be useful training?" at the young Hyuga's question, Kurenai had a smirk on her face.

"Let's head out to the forest and see what we have to work with, and I'll show you guys."

**XxXxXxX**

After informing their clients of their training plans, Team 8 made their way into the wooded area in the north of the village. Naruto was walking behind the group, eyeing the shadows around him as he held a near silent conversation with them.

"Looks like it's working, huh?" he muttered quietly to the shifting figures.

_No problems… so far…?_

_Still feel… connection…?_

He nodded subtly at the question, thinking about his current experiment.

Naruto had been to the one to head inside and inform the two Kimura women of their training plans. Receiving an 'ok' from the artist and receiving strict instruction to be back by 8 at the latest, a curious Naruto left the room quietly. Pausing in the hallway outside their room, Naruto silently channeled his dark energy into his shadow.

The unheard command was obeyed by his shadowy minions, as his shadow stretched thinly into the room. Two small shadows could be faintly seen darting into the room, merging with the unaware women's shadows. Taking a moment to see if he could spot a difference and seeing none, Naruto was happy to find his experiment was a success.

Two of his shadow wolves were now merged with the two's shadows. Ready to leap to the women's aid in the event of an emergency. With a mental order to only appear in the direst of circumstances, Naruto left his clients in the invisible paws of his shadow soldiers.

Confirming his early finding from a few weeks ago, Naruto was happy to see his shadow beasts were capable of receiving and acting upon his orders at long distances. He could also feel an 'emotional' connection to the two, getting a general feeling from them about how his clients were doing.

They seemed excited for some reason, working on something that confused his wolves. Putting that thought away for later, Naruto saw that his teacher had led them to a suitable place to begin their training.

Standing at the base of a group of trees nearly 80 feet high, Kurenai turned to her students with a smile.

"Alright you four, here's a good spot to begin our next step for training," reaching into her pouch she grabbed 4 kunai and tossed them at the genin's feet.

Picking the blades up at her insistence, the four preteens could only look at the woman in growing curiosity at this training.

"You'll be climbing these trees without your hands, using only your legs and chakra." The Genjutsu Mistress began.

Naruto's eyes widened at her words,_ 'Does she mean…?'_

His eyes widened even more along with his teammates as the woman walked up the side of a tree as an example. He was silently surprised at the feat, realizing that the exercise he had come up with weeks ago had turned out to be an official method used by shinobi.

Kurenai now stood comfortable on the side of a tree as if it were solid ground, looking down on her students to see their reactions. Each one looks suitably surprised at the example, though Naruto looked doubly so compared to the others. Hopping down to the ground, the jonin went into more detail on the chakra exercise.

"The goal of this exercise is to increase your chakra control. It is believed that the hardest place to channel chakra is one's feet. Theoretically, if you can master this exercise then you could master any jutsu you try to learn.

"You guys can use those to mark your progress, try to beat your previous attempt and watch just how much you can go each time. The key is to channel it to the soles of your feet, too little and you won't stick, too much- "

"-and you'll go flying off, right?" Naruto interrupted the woman, surprising her at his statement.

"…that's correct, how did you know?"

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Naruto let out a nervous chuckle, "I kinda figured this out a while ago."

An astonished look on her face, the jonin looked at the boy in interest, "Really? Care to show us, Naruto-kun?"

Nodding happily at her question, Naruto made his way to a tree and proceeded to walk up the side of it with little hesitation. His team looked on with surprised looks on their faces, Kurenai's the most surprised amongst the group at the Uzumaki's show.

'_How did he learn this? To figure something like this out on your own…' _Was the boy a prodigy or something? Such natural development was extremely rare, even in a village like Konoha who was known for producing geniuses every generation.

Thoughts of the last few geniuses to come from Konoha went through her mind, Orochimaru, Hatake Kakashi, and Uchiha Itachi. Just how many of them displayed this type of natural ingenuity in their early days?

It made her wonder why Naruto wasn't recognized and nurtured like all three of them were, pariah status or not this was a major development. Though there was the fact that all three men were trained during the wartime years, no doubt they were under much greater scrutiny than the outcast Uzumaki ever was.

Shaking her head to dispel her distraction, Kurenai looked on at her jinchuuriki subordinate as he happily gave his teammates tips on the exercise. She watched as the other three made their first attempts at the tree-walking exercise.

Unsurprisingly, Hinata managed to make it up a decent distance on her first try, getting to right above halfway up her tree. Placing her first mark a little over 40 feet up as she slipped, only to skid down a dozen or so feet and catch herself with quick reflexes on a lower branch. Shino was next, having made it up just about 30 feet before he launched himself off, leaving behind a dent in the tree from too much chakra.

Shikamaru was rather lethargically making his way up the tree, making slow calculated steps as he inched his way up one step at a time. She watched his concentrating form deliberately take his time up the tree, never faltering in his steps as he eventually made it to the top of the last large tree branch capable of bearing his weight.

Sitting 50 feet in the air, Shikamaru looked down at his team with a somewhat cocky/lazy smile on his face at his accomplishment. The rest of the team was rather surprised at the Nara's accomplishment, not assuming he would make it up so far on his first try.

"Well done Shikamaru-kun!" Kurenai called out to him from below.

"Well damn, that lazy bastard did it in one go? I thought for sure Hinata-chan was gonna get it first." Naruto muttered in disbelief. Shino could only shake his head at the boy's statement, a quiet grunt escaping from his mouth at the situation.

Hearing her crush's confidence in her, Hinata blushed on her tree and nearly slipped once more. Though slightly disappointed in herself for not living up to his expectations, she gained a more determined look on her face as she focused even harder on her control.

'_Naruto-kun believes I can do it, so I definitely can!' _she thought strongly, knowing the boy wouldn't lie about his beliefs.

Seeing herself not needed anymore, Kurenai slipped away and let her team focus on their new chakra control exercise. She'd grab them in a few hours to get back by the time the clients wanted. For now, she wanted to gather a little information from the locals about the places Midori wanted to go, maybe find out if any more chakra mutations had popped up in the area.

**XxXxXxX**

Several hours later and we once more find Kurenai leading her team back to the inn they were residing in temporarily. The three genin had made impressive progress in their last few hours of training. Mildly exhausted by the surprisingly strenuous exercise, the four chatted amiably behind her as they strolled in the cool evening air.

Shikamaru had been needled into continuing to train despite his apparent 'mastery' of the exercise, now much more tired looking as he had used up much of his chakra and stamina after Naruto started to _chase_ him up and down the trees. He was still grumbling about 'troublesome teammates who make his day harder.'

A few tips from the Uzumaki and Nara had seen their remaining comrades gain noticed gain in their own training. Hinata had also managed to make it all the way up her tree after some advice from her crush. Her superb chakra control was in full display as she began to practice different movements along the side of the tree's trunk instead of just straight up and down.

Shino once more proved his intelligence, only a mentioning of a steady regulation of chakra before he would run up the tree had put the quiet boy on the right track. By no means had any of the three truly master the technique, but they all had solid grasps on the concept and only needed to practice some more to get it to turn instinctual.

Naruto kept himself busy by following the other around on their trees, walking or running alongside them to help them get a feel for the technique he had had several weeks of practice with ahead of them. At one point he had begun walking backward up the tree, taunting the tired Nara the entire time to enrage the boy and make him lose focus.

It worked, and thus the Uzumaki would be the one getting chased for a while.

Twenty leisurely minutes of walking later and the well wore out Team 8 had arrived at the inn. Lit up in the waning sunlight by numerous lanterns, they could really see the beauty of the area that led so many to flock to this city. It was like the stars had decided to dance amongst the earth, the reflection of the lights on the winding river making for quite the romantic picture.

Removing their sandals and slipping into the provided house slippers, the 5 made it into the inn proper and went straight to the bathing areas to clean themselves of the day's grime. A few dozen minutes later and they had arrived at their client's room, fresh faced and clean right as the requested time rung on the clocks throughout the hallways.

A few knocks from Kurenai and they quickly heard the shuffling of feet behind the door. The cheerfully smiling face of Tsuya greeted them as she opened the door to usher them in. The team was quite surprised as they were pushed from behind, entering the room's larger entertainment area.

Rising to greet them was their main client, a delicious looking spread of food on the long, low table in front of her. The appearance and smells of the food causing their stomachs to growl in the quietness of the room, causing a few embarrassed looks from the genin.

Smiling at the genin, Midori motioned for them to sit, "Please sit! I had the Inn make you guys a robust dinner to help you recover after all your hard work and training today."

Following her request, the team sat down at the long table, Kurenai on the far left, followed by Hinata, Shino, and Shikamaru on one side while Naruto moved to the free place on the opposite side. Midori sat across from Kurenai while Tsuya sat between her and Naruto.

"This wasn't really necessary, Midori-san. We are only doing our job; no special thanks are needed." Kurenai said diplomatically, waiting for everyone to get comfortable.

Holding her hand up to her cheek as she let out a charming giggle, Midori shook her head at the other woman's words. "Oh please, Kurenai-san! Allow me to spoil these little ones a bit, would you? I can't have my brave and daring bodyguards going underfed or unrewarded for doing so well on their job, now can I?"

The jonin couldn't but chuckle at the woman's over-the-top words, clearly realizing that her client wasn't going to do anything but spoil her little genin for the next few weeks if she could help it. It was already clear the last few days of travel, the woman had provided most of the food on their breaks and insisting the kids ride the carriages despite not moving any faster than they could handle on foot or tree hopping.

The genin, on the other hand, were all too eager to begin their meal, any thoughts of coddling out of their head as the enticing food sat mere inches away from them. Sucking up a stray strand of drool at a succulent piece of meat, Naruto gave his neighbor a grateful smile.

"This looks great! I can't wait to dig in!" Hearing the two giggling at his excitement, Midori called for them to begin. Clasping their hands in thanks for the food, they each grabbed their chopsticks and quickly began to eat. Their sensei watched in amusement as the four devoured the food in front of them, Naruto shoveling food into his mouth in a dignified manner as he could without losing speed. Hinata did her best to eat daintily with speed, and Shino had forgone his normal face covering in favor of eating rice at a quick pace.

Even Shikamaru, typically the slowest eater in the group, was all too happy to bite large chunks of grilled fish as they appeared on his plate. Their clients watched in mild fascination as the genin ate everything like starving animals would in nature. Smiling at their exuberance for the meal, the others dug into their own portions as the dinner continued on.

**XxXxXxX**

_Later that night_

_Elsewhere in Kyoshi_

A middle-aged man sat alone at a bar, looking over a report just handed to him by one of his lackeys. He was rather unassuming in his appearance, not someone who would really stand out in a crowd with his plain face and typical dark shaggy hair. Lightly swishing the sake in his cup around as he looked over the report, he snorted to himself in contempt at what he read.

'_What's so interstin' to the boss about them?'_

A quick glance gave him the most pertinent details, the openly available info on the team his men had managed to gather that day. Consisting of three clan heirs, some orphan kid, and a rather notorious Genjutsu Mistress at the lead, he couldn't really see them being any trouble. Despite this, his boss had sent word to watch these Konoha nin for some reason, his interest having been piqued at an interaction the orphan had gotten into with one of their escaped products.

He couldn't really see anything of note to the kids, the Hyuga was the only that had any promise for profit, since she could be used as a product to sell to Kumogakure. That militant village was rather well known for their desire to get the Byakugan from Konoha, coveting the eye above other Bloodline Limits the Leaf had access to. Despite this, he had his men only observe the group, better to not go off on his own and piss off his boss.

Sighing to himself, he decided to simply wait for more orders. No need to go out of his way to start trouble, eventually they would leave, and it wouldn't matter what he thought about it. Looking to his left as he heard the bar doors open, he saw one of his people quickly walking towards him.

A rather scrawny man with a rat-shaped face, he had the look of a delinquent that'd be in his line of work. Stopping before his boss, he gave him the customary bow and waited for the go-ahead to begin his report. Taking a moment to put the report away, he turned on his barstool and grunted at the man.

"What's up, Koshi?"

"Boss! I was watching those brats as you wanted, I spotted one of them slipping out the back. That blondie that Sato-sama was interested in left a little while ago, I managed to follow him for a while to the northern forest. It looks like he'll be there for a while, he's training or something." Wringing his hands with a greasy smile on his face, the man was clearly hoping for a reward of some sort for doing his job so well.

His boss 'hmm'ed' at the new info, before making his mind up about something. "Alright, good job letting me know so fast. I let our friends know the situation," grabbing the bottle he hands what little of it remained to his subordinate as a reward.

A wide smile on the man's face as he walked away from his boss to drink his reward, he missed a dark shuffling in his shadow as a faint blue glow silently moved from the floor to a shaded corner of the room.

**XxXxXxX**

_With Naruto_

_A few minutes earlier_

Naruto had slipped out after dinner to go do some more training, this time of the shadow variety since he still had some energy to burn. Sneaking out toe head to the forest, he quietly made his way to the forests to the north of town. He remembered a clearing they had passed earlier with a cavernous cliff at the edge he could try out some techniques he had been training with.

On his way there he had felt a weird feeling, a faint itchy sensation on his back as if he were being watched. Around him, he could hear the shadows muttering quietly in warning to the young genin. Doing his best to not let it be known he felt off, Naruto discreetly ordered his sole shadow wolf to exit his shadow and scout the area around him as inconspicuously as it could.

Feeling the assent, he continued his way towards his desired training ground. Having to wait only a few minutes, he felt his shadow soldier express a feeling of success at it's assigned task. Deciding it was a good time as any to try out this technique, Naruto gathered his chakra to his shadowy eye and focused on his desires.

Feeling a weird shift in perspective, Naruto's dark eye ceased to glow under his eyepatch. Elsewhere the glow of his beast's eye gained radiance slightly, it's position on a tree limb above his Lord's stalker giving him a perfect view of the situation.

A neat little trick he had come up with after talking to the old Hokage a few weeks ago, learning about the man's use of a remote viewing technique to help learn about his situation with the Forbidden Scroll. He came up with this to get his own remote viewing ability, after discovering he could share the view of his soldiers so long as he could maintain focus.

It wouldn't really be useful as a combat technique since he couldn't do anything other shadow jutsu while looking through his minion's eyes. His gaze fixated on the slightly discolored world he could see through the shadow wolf's eyes. Everything had a slightly blue tinge to it as he looked on the back of the man who was following him.

_Could be… trouble… yes…?_

_Been… following… for…_

_A while…_

At the information from the whispering shadows, Naruto contemplated his actions. Some unknown man was following him, for unknown and possibly insidious reasons. He would have to inspect this situation and respond accordingly upon getting all the information. Deciding to head to a closer clearing to see what the man would do, Naruto changed directions around a bend and kept his gaze on the stalker.

A few minutes later he arrived at his altered destination, beginning to do his customary stretches in preparation for his training as the man watched him for a bit. After almost ten minutes the man seemed to be satisfied with what he had seen, nodding to himself and muttering something under his breath he quickly vacated the woods.

Thinking quickly, Naruto orders his wolf to dive into the man's shadow. Thinking it best to react proactively in accordance with this situation, he felt his wolf dash from the shadows of the tree and merge with the man's fleeting shadow.

Taking a moment to relocate to a new hiding place and taking a few minutes to safely sinking into the shadow plane to further hide from any other possible onlookers, Naruto focused completely on his shadow wolf's senses. A few mental notes on the man's appearance, the path through town, and general demeanor and he was certain his stalker was up to no good.

He hadn't had to wait any longer than 20 minutes before the man arrived at some mid-class bar in the northwest middle section of the city. Nestled in between two rather large restaurants, this place was likely overlooked by anyone who didn't frequent the little hole-in-the-wall establishment. Marked with a simple sign written 'Bar', it was as inconspicuous as could be in such a city.

Watching the man enter, he had his wolf slip from the man's shadow to the darkened corners of the room. Affixing his position to provide a bird's eye view from the upper corner next to the bar, Naruto observed the man interact with someone who was clearly his superior. Holding his hand up to his ear, he felt the cold chill of the shadows surround his ear as he listened through his shadow soldier's senses to their conversation.

Taking note of the names he heard, Naruto narrowed his eyes as the middle-aged man dismissed his stalker. He could see a file on the bar, a picture of his team from a distance clipped to the front. _'What the hell is going on here? Who cares about me so much? What did he mean by product? Does he mean Gou? I thought he was just a normal chakra mutation, but if he's artificial… what the hell have I stumbled upon…?'_

Thoughts flew through his head at a dozen miles a second, all manner of scenarios running through his head as he watched the man drink the remainder of his cup. Seeing the man look around at the pretty empty bar, he stood up with the file in hand and walked off to the back of the bar. Having his wolf silently slide along the dark ceiling to follow the man, Naruto came up with a course of action.

He needed to get that file.

Directing his shadow wolf to follow the man through the lowly lit hallway, he observed the man set the file down on a small stand outside a bathroom. Glancing around yet again, the man checked his surroundings and upon finding them satisfactory, entered the bathroom. Jumping on the opportunity, Naruto had his minion drop silently to the ground.

Quickly snatching the file in its shadowy maw, the wolf sunk in the shadows of the hallway. Entering the shadow plane, it rapidly ran towards Naruto's location. Disconnecting his sense from his minion's, Naruto quickly stood and made his way to meet up his minion. They soon arrived at the inn his team was at, silently exiting the inverse world of the shadow plane.

Grabbing the file from the shadow wolf's mouth, he patted the beast's head as he rapidly flipped through the pages. The information was remarkably detailed, yet not on the level he could see that would suggest a severe security problem in Konoha. Nevertheless, there was a rather disconcerting amount of information that was detailed in the file. Looking around as his wolf slipped back into his shadow, the young Shadow Lord made his way back inside.

He needed to let his sensei know just what kind of crap they were in.

**XxXxXxX**

**There it is my dear readers, the next chapter nice and done. Things are getting more intense, without knowing it the mysterious associates had tipped their hand to our favorite blond.**

**Too bad you can't sneak up on someone the shadows watch over, about as difficult as looking left and right at the same time, wouldn't you say?**

**REFERENCES ARE FUN! **

**Ahem, yeah…. Oh, by the way, our dear Shadow King? He's only a few days away at this point, for those of you not keeping track. Just what kind of shenanigans will our dear hero run into before then? Stay tuned and find out!**

**Let's see how things turn out next time, huh? **

**Look forward to it, wouldn't you?**

**Review, if you please and I'll see you in the next one.**


	10. A Mission Gone Wrong

**Here we go again, dear readers! Next chapter is here and hot off the frontal lobe! Actually, that sounds gross and inaccurate… grossly inaccurate…?**

**Eh, whatever, I stand by what I type. Usually.**

**Let's see how this plays out, who wants this info on our dear Shinobi squad? Will there be fighting? Death? Destruction? GROTESQUE EXPLOSIONS!?**

**Sorry, channeled Mr. Torgue there for a second. **

…**Borderlands is awesome, fight me if you disagree.**

**Anyways this is going on too long, let's get it started.**

**I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show!**

**XxXxXxX**

**Chapter 9**

**A Mission Gone Wrong**

It hadn't taken long for Naruto to get to the room his teacher shared with Hinata. A few quick words and the whole of team 8 was in the room to discuss these dire circumstances. The 5 were seated around the low table of the living area. The genin were silently watching Kurenai as she read through the file that Naruto had procured just an hour prior.

A brief explanation to the other genin upon arrival was all the talking there was for several minutes. The young preteens exchanged troubled looks at the news, waiting impatiently for their leader's plan of action. Naruto's leg was bouncing as he sat cross-legged, his mind running through the possibilities the situation could go through.

The rest of the genin were in similar positions, Hinata nervously pressing her index fingers together while she gazed worriedly out the window. Shino had a frown on his face as he looked at the insect on his finger, having sent a few of his hive out to gather information at the jonin's request.

Shikamaru was sitting in his thinking pose, his fingertips pressed together as he sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. He had assumed the position quickly after they had organized in the room, a furrowed look upon his brow as he went through dozens of plans with what information they had at their disposal.

Naruto glanced around to the darkened corner of the room; the shadowy figures were shifting about in unease. They were offering reassurance to the boy, ready to assist their young shade with his mission. He nodded thankfully to them, understanding they weren't alone in this.

His team had back up ready and willing.

"Alright guys, I've read through the file."

At Kurenai's comment, the genin immediately looked towards the woman in impatient interest.

"So, what are we gonna do, Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto started off.

"After reading through this information, I can see we really have a problem. There's some stuff in here that shouldn't be public knowledge." The genin had a troubled look on their faces at that.

"We need to be careful now, the odds are the man Naruto got this file from knows it has been taken by now. But we can get ahead of the ball on this one, we just have to be smart about it.

"So, here's what we need to do…"

The genin listened intently to the jonin's plan, brows furrowed at the situation.

**XxXxXxX**

_Kyoshi_

_Later that night_

Elsewhere in the dark alleys of the city Team 8 had arrived in, a shadowy figure darted around in constant search. Stopping to observe it's surrounding in the southern residential areas of the city, it looked around in search of its target.

The creature was a shadowling, a small pitch-black figure only a foot tall. An imp-like figure, it was short and squat with spindly limbs and light greyish eyes. It had been summoned by its shadowy brethren who were accompanying the newest Shadow Contract holder. The young shade was in potential danger and the clan was called to help the boy out.

As such this shadowling was out, one of a nearly half a dozen who had heeded the call and was searching for the humans that were targeting the Uzumaki and his team. Given a description of the human they were looking for, it had set out ready to serve the clan.

Not seeing any people around it, the shadowling dashed out of the alley to the dark streets of the city. Using the unique movement technique of the clan, it flitted from shadow to shadow with each step. Now on the other side of the neighborhood it had been searching, it once more stopped to look around.

Its hours of searching had finally paid off as it spotted a male human that matched the description given by its clanmates. Taking a moment to mentally connect to the elder shades that guarded Naruto, it projected its thoughts to them.

_Target found…_

Establishing a connection, the shadowling's eye glowed faintly as the elder shade gazed through its vision. Confirming the target, the shadowling received praise from its senpai and further orders.

_Well done…._

_Follow and observe…_

Feeling the connection being cut, the shadowling nodded to itself as it darted out once more to follow the middle-aged man. The man had a somewhat angry look on his face as he moved swiftly through the darkened streets. He was grumbling irately to himself as he glanced around, unknowing of the new follower he had gained.

"How the hell did I lose that file? Just one minute to take a leak and it vanished, that rat bastard subordinate of mine didn't even see anyone show up," his muttering echoed lightly in the alleys around him.

No doubt his boss was going to be incredibly upset about this mistake, there was no telling what he was going to do to the man. As such, he was quickly making his way over to the hideout to get the information put together once again. His boys were smart enough to record their findings in duplicate after the last time somebody lost important information.

Poor Toshi, the pathetic bastard hasn't been heard from since.

A harried twenty minutes later and he found himself at a large homestead. A somewhat secluded location on the southernmost area of the residential districts, this was one of several hideouts his organization had set up.

Taking a moment to double check his surroundings, the man gazed sharply around him in dutiful observance. Seeing nothing and no one out of place, he unlocked the front wooden gates and quickly made his way through. The gates made a resounding thud behind him, unseen seals activating for a moment before fading once more.

Special security measures his boss had obtained some time ago, anyone without proper counter seals or clearance would be paralyzed and an alarm would blare loudly. No one would be sneaking in over the stone walls with these in effect.

Unfortunately for the man and his organization, the shadowling easily slipped passed the warding seals. No chakra to speak of, it was entirely invisible to the seals and their security measures.

The shadowling looked around, making note of the layout of the homestead it had arrived on. A rather large property, a dozen acres at least in size. It had a large mansion of sorts in the center of the property, several stories high in the western styles of building. Several warehouses and sheds dotted the property as well, storage locations for various goods and equipment used by the organization.

The well-kept lawn and rather scenic landscape would lead one to believe a rather rich merchant or even a noble lived here, drawing admiring looks towards its idyllic beauty. The shadowy creature could see and even sense a few lifeforms around the property, mostly humans with a few animals interspersed about as well.

A majority were in the large mansion, with a few in the other warehouses on the property. It tilted its head quizzically when it could faintly feel the life energy of others underground. Too large to be burrowing animals, its curiosity was peaked as it once more followed the man to the mansion.

A brief and hushed conversation with the man on guard duty and the midboss was quickly ushered inside the mansion. A faint frown on the shadowling's face showed its displeasure at its situation, the mansion was very well lit, and it wouldn't be capable to maintain corporal from if it entered the abode.

Deciding to do its best to follow the man, it dashed from shadow to shadow of the windows and crept along to keep the man in view. Eventually, he had arrived in the topmost room of the mansion, the attic that held numerous files and other important documents that were needed.

Gazing into the circular skylight cut into the high wall, the shadowling watched as the man quickly grabbed several documents and recreated the file, he had lost earlier that night. The man had just barely finished as the door opened, banging loudly against the wall and making him jump.

Entering the room was another human, a male as well. Somewhat tall in stature, he was dressed like one would expect of a mercenary shinobi. Dark formfitting clothes, a long-sleeved shirt under a dark grey flak vest and dark pants. He had one of the shiny metal headbands shinobi favored nowadays, an image of three sideways oblong ovals upon it with a large scratch marring its surface.

The new figure's white hair was short and spiked backward, his cold grey eyes regarding the mid-boss in front of him with a cold fury. A narrowed look on his tanned face, he moved to the man's position quickly before standing over the man like a looming god.

"Where have you been, Noboru? The information I requested was to arrive some time ago."

Shaking slightly at the shinobi's cold gaze, the criminal cowered as he held out his newly remade file.

"S-sorry Machii-sama! I had come up to d-double check the information, to m-make sure its w-was everything we h-had!"

Regarding the man with a suspicious eye, the now named Machii grabbed the file roughly from the man and began to look through it. Thumbing through the file, he nodded to himself as he quickly skimmed its contents. Frowning as he reached the section that had details of the blonde genin, he gave the man a rather scathing glare.

"Is this really the extent of your people's information gathering skills?"

At his question the man began to sweat a little, fear creeping in his mind, "I-is there something m-missing?"

Frowning at the man's ignorance, Machii faced the folder toward the wary man. Opened on the page detailing one Uzumaki Naruto, he could see a few pages of what little information they could gather on the boy in the day that they had.

"This boy's information is severely lacking compared to the others, several notable abilities are missing from his dossier as well. We expect better from our associates, Noboru. Are you so willing to disappoint us?"

Eyes widening at the shinobi's words and subtle threat, Noboru immediately bowed to the irate shinobi in deference.

"Of course not! We do our b-best with every assignment we are given! Please, just another day and my men can get the information you desire!" his pleads echoed in the silent room as the shadowling observed the interaction.

These humans were quite confusing, no doubt the shinobi was more than good enough to find this information on his own. Why did he delegate it to these mundane thugs? It could only watch on in silent contemplation as the tow continued their discussion.

"Very well then, they are reported to be staying in this city two more days. I want every last detail on all of them before they leave, every jutsu, fighting style, and ninja tool they carry. If I don't know what they had for breakfast that morning, I will be back, and you will regret it."

With his piece said, the shinobi left the fearful man alone and left the room. Shaking in both residual fear and impotent rage, the man could only glare in futility at the ground as his mind raced at the situation.

Above in the hidden alcove of the window, the shadowling watched everything play out in interest. Its gaze on the lone human in the room, the shadow creature couldn't truly understand the situation. Humans were so odd, why let this fool gather information if you were capable of doing it better yourself?

_Human are stupid…_

Watching for a few more minutes as the man stomped his feet in silent rage, throwing a small tantrum like a child in his anger. Deciding it had seen enough, the young shadowling sunk into the darkness of the night. Now in the Shadow Plane, it soon left the property and rested for the time being. Maintaining a corporeal from away from the shadows was a taxing effort, in the morning it would find the Uzumaki to report its findings.

Things really got more interesting after this boy signed the Contract.

**XxXxXxX**

The young Shadow Lord was walking through the village in the morning light, his clients in front of him chatting happily as they walked through the city for some window shopping. He and Shino were on guard duty this airy morning, the others of Team 8 working on the plan that they had come up with late last night.

Deigning to err on the side of caution, Kurenai decided to keep their clients out of the loop for the time being. They weren't the ones being targeted just yet, the shinobi still needed to gather information before they worry the women. As such the jonin had taken Shikamaru and Hinata with her to go check on their former client, the merchant that had tagged along the trip.

There was some information that was in the file on their team that could only come from someone who had been close to the team on the way to Kyoshi. Their schedule, the team's destinations, even the possible inns they were set to stay at over the next 2 weeks. They needed to check on the man's situation, he was the only one who could have told someone about such information.

Refocusing on the task at hand, Naruto looked ahead to see his clients stopping at a stall ahead of them. The two had an interest in the shiny baubles the merchant had laid out on his table, uniquely crafted and colorful glass figurines. They could see various animals and even the standard symbols for many of the shinobi villages. The Konoha leaf swirl, Suna's hourglass, and even Iwagakure's stones each on small platforms in appropriate colors for their countries.

"Oh, aren't these the cutest little things?" Tsuya cooed out, grabbing one that was a resembled a sleeping rabbit.

"Such exquisite craftsmanship, we really should get a few!" Midori called out; her artistic eye gleaming as she looked over the intricately detailed glass figurines.

"I see you have an eye for quality, miss! Yes, these are the finest hand made glass figures in the city! The artist is- "

Naruto soon tuned the man out as he went on in his little salesman spiel, his attention drawn to his left as the shadows called out to him.

_Important… information…_

_Shadowling… coming…_

Quirking an eyebrow at the odd word, Naruto turned his gaze to a shaded alleyway in interest. He switched the perspective of his unique eye to peek through the shadows under his hood as he saw a short, squat creature waving animatedly at him from the darkness.

Unlike the vague figures that accompanied him around in his day-to-day life, this one had a defined form. Its grey eyes looked up at him, watching him curiously. Looking around to check his surroundings, he noticed Shino was preoccupied with the clients and their negotiations with the merchant.

Taking advantage of the distraction, he quickly made his way over to the shadows and knelt down before the shadowling.

"What's up?" he asked quietly.

Bouncing on its feet, the shadowling did its best to report to the boy as the shadows translated in quiet whispers. Nodding along as it informed him of the man it had seen just last night, his face took a concerned look at the knowledge of a shinobi in the mix. He frowned to himself as the shadowling finished its report.

A missing-nin was in the city as well? Things just kept getting worse, didn't they?

Focusing some of his shadowy energy to his palm, he held it out towards the small creature and allowed it to feed off the energy as a reward. "Thanks a lot, little guy. This is super helpful."

A happy trill from the shadowling was his answer as the shadowy imp soon vanished from sight, its job done for now. Standing up once more, Naruto returned to his clients just as they had finished their transactions with the merchant. Seeing Shino loaded up with several bags in each hand, Naruto could only watch in confusion as the women handed him several more bags to carry as well.

Just how much did these two buy?

"Alright, let's get going Naruto-kun, Shino-kun!" At Midori's happy call, the two soon walked off once more. Exchanging a look with the bug user, Naruto silently spread his shadow beneath the two of them. Setting their bags into the shadowy storage space, Shino nodded gratefully at the Uzumaki before they both followed after their clients.

Hopefully, they would be fine until they could meet up with their sensei, so the Uzumaki could let her know just how much more troublesome things were getting.

**XxXxXxX**

_Market District_

While the two boys were with the clients, Kurenai and her other two genin made their way to see the merchant that had previously been traveling with them. Arriving at the man's business, they entered the general store and looked around to find him. It was a medium sized building, with a great many wares from numerous places and countries spread throughout.

Heading to the front counter, they soon found a young woman doing some last-minute organization of the wares. Turning to greet her new customers, the attendant looked surprised to see the shinobi before her.

Giving them a courteous bow, she quickly moved behind the counter, "Good morning! How can I help you this morning?"

Giving a polite bow of her head in greeting, Kurenai regarded the young woman before her, "Good morning, we're looking for Mori-san. I need to ask him a few questions concerning something that has come up. Is he in?"

Giving the woman an apologetic look, the attendant could only shake her head.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen Mori-san since before closing time yesterday. He left a note for me to lock up last night and hasn't been in today."

Frowning at this information, Kurenai decided to ask the young woman some questions, "Has anyone else been in to talk to Mori-san? Since we dropped him off yesterday?"

Tilting her head in thought, the young woman took a few moments to think. Suddenly nodding her head, she spoke up, "Yes, around 3 some men from the local union showed up to speak to Mori-san. I don't know what about, but they left after an hour. Mori-san left a half hour after that, and that's the last time I saw him."

Narrowing her eyes at this new information, Kurenai thanked the young woman and lead her team out of the store. Turning down the road, they entered an alleyway a block from the store.

"Hinata, check the store to make sure Mori-san isn't hiding inside."

Nodding at her sensei's request, Hinata went thought a few handsigns and activated her doujutsu, the Byakugan. Shifting her perspective to a greyish-blue tinted spectrum, she gazed back toward the store for any chakra signatures in the building. A few minutes of through searching later and the genin deactivated her unique bloodline.

Giving her sensei a frown, she shook her head negatively, "No one else is in the s-store, sensei."

Frowning at the young kunoichi's report, Kurenai could only gaze back at the store in trepidation. _'Mori-san vanishing right after men come by to talk to him, did he run away? Or was he forced? If only I had a summons, I could send word to Hokage-sama for backup…'_

Taking a deep breath to stead her growing anxiety over the situation, Kurenai looked back at her worried genin with a reassuring smile.

"Let's take a look around the city for a bit, see if we can find Mori-san at his home. If we can't find anything in a few hours, we'll go meet up with Naruto and Shino back at the inn."

Nodding in agreement to their sensei's plan of action, the two dutifully followed behind the woman as they began their search for the missing merchant.

**XxXxXxX**

It was afternoon by the time everyone met back up at the inn. Naruto and Shino were mentally worn from the paranoia of potential enemies all morning, even as they had lunch with their merry clients. A few more shops and purchases and they eventually made their way to one of the scenic hills to get her painting started.

Several hours later they returned to the inn with no problems to speak of. Kurenai and her two genin didn't run into any notable problems either, aside from failing to find hide-nor-hair of the missing merchant. Allowing their clients to relax after a leisurely day around the town, Team 8 met back up in Kurenai's room to debrief.

"Alright, report you two."

The team turned to the Uzumaki and Aburame to hear their day's events. Turning to look at each other tiredly, Naruto let out a sigh as Shino began to speak.

"Our day went smoothly, despite the current situation. No problems arose in the course of our duties, our clients merely went shopping for much of the morning before we escorted the clients toward a location Midori-san wished to paint."

Picking up after the Aburame, Naruto started on his portion of the report, "Yeah, we didn't have much else going on this morning. No run-ins with whoever is looking into us or anything. Though I did find something out earlier…"

Giving the group a rundown on the info the shadowling had given him that morning, he saw as they all immediately had troubled looks on their faces. Kurenai was gazing at the tabletop with a furrowed look on her brow.

'_Missing ninja are involved in this too?! We need to leave this city before they make a move on us. There's no telling what will happen if I can't handle the shinobi. It's way too early for these four to be in this situation.' _Glancing toward the genin she saw their troubled looks as they gazed unsurely about the room.

Mission be damned, she was going to keep these kids safe no matter what.

"Oi, Naruto?"

Perking up at the sudden question, the boy turned to his Nara teammate, "What's up Shikamaru?"

"How did you find out about this information?"

Naruto gained a nervous look on his face, scratching the side of his head hesitantly as he averted his gaze from his teammate. Glancing at his sensei, Naruto weighed his options at the moment.

'_I should have thought of this before, of course, someone would be curious about how I gathered this info… what do I do?' _As if sensing the boy's inner turmoil at the situation, Kurenai cleared her throat to get the other's attention.

"We don't need to worry about that right now, so long as you can guarantee the information Naruto?"

At his confident nod, she continued, "For now I need to go inform the clients about the situation, we need to begin heading out from this city. Get everything prepared and inform the carriage driver, we'll be leaving out the eastern entrance to keep up the scheduled information these people have on us.

"Once we get a good distance away from Kyoshi, we'll head towards the closest friendly outpost to request reinforcements. With the possibility of enemy shinobi this mission is no longer C-rank, now its B-rank or even A-rank."

C-rank missions were to have little to no danger involved in them, typically bandits or animal attacks were the worst one could expect on such a mission. Even a single enemy shinobi added into the mix made this mission jump in ranking, something these rookie genin were vastly unprepared for.

Each of the genin understood this easily enough, no one strongly opposed to getting help when things were getting dangerously out of their league. Standing and saluting the jonin, the four quickly left the room to prepare for departure. Hinata went off in search of the driver, with the three boys packing up the various luggage they and the clients had.

Kurenai herself set out to have a talk with the clients, slightly apprehensive of the situation playing out on their first C-rank mission.

That 'First C-rank curse' superstition just had to come true, didn't it?

**XxXxXxX**

**Decided to end it here, been a minute since I posted the last chapter, huh?**

**Sorry, life and a rather bad case of sleeping illness ruined me for a while. Anyways, what do you think? For once a team isn't going to continue a mission despite the danger, or to **_**spite**_** the danger rather.**

**Anyways, plot twists can be nice sometimes, at least I think so.**

**As always, feel free to tell me how it was. Reviews are nice to read, though I ended up having to rewrite this since my computer decided to seize on me. Might rewrite it or something if it's not so well received.**

**Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.**


	11. Hot Pursuit

**Greetings excited readers! It's that time again, another chapter of this delightful story of mine. **

**I kept you waiting, huh?**

**Well not too long I hope, just wanted to type that iconic line. **

**Anyways, let's see how things play out this chapter. Leaving the city of Kyoshi was a smart idea, or was it?**

**Let's find out together, eh?**

**I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show!**

**XxXxXxX**

**Chapter 10**

**Hot Pursuit**

The shinobi squad and their clients had gotten out of the city and on the road only a few hours later. After explaining the situation to their clients, the two had quickly agreed to the jonin's plan. Rather fearful of the dangers, they had quickly followed Kurenai's lead and packed up to leave the city of Kyoshi.

Now they were a few dozen miles away, keeping up the pretense of leaving toward their next destination. Despite the waning daylight, they had continued on while Kurenai looked over her field map to check on the closest outpost.

There was a good candidate a decent distance north from their current position, she could quickly get there within a few hours at her top travel speed. However, she wasn't about to leave her team and their clients behind, especially with rogue elements possibly after them.

As such, the group made all due haste as best they could, all the while with the shinobi keeping apt eyes out for trouble. No doubt someone would have become suspicious of their early leaving, but hopefully, they could make it to the outpost without trouble.

At their current rate, it would be well after midnight before they neared the outpost. Unfortunately, they would also have to abandon the carriage at some point, for there would be no roads to the actual location. As such, Kurenai began to think on the situation more, trying to come up with a plan to help keep everyone safe.

The genin had been set up on the carriage as a means of defense for their clients and the driver. Inside with the two women was Hinata and Shikamaru, these two the best at close quarters among the genin. Hinata for her _Gentle Fist_, and Shikamaru for the immediate shutdowns his shadow jutsu could do in close distance.

Next to the driver was Shino, providing vigilance for their front and protection for the driver in case of emergency. Meanwhile, Naruto kneeled on top of the carriage facing the rear. Both mentally and physically prepped in case of an attack, the boy was diligently watching their back to ensure they weren't being followed.

Adding the shadows to the mix meant the team had all avenues covered, for the time being anyway. Though they could provide intelligence to the Uzumaki, they couldn't be omniscient if they didn't know who was following them. Kurenai herself was tree hopping along the side of the road, following the carriage as the horses ran along the dirt path.

'_Bah! This is so annoying!' _The blond thought to himself as his sharpened eye gazed around the path behind them, _'Should I send out my shadow beasts? Maybe they can scout out behind us or something… Grr, why did things have to play out like this?'_

Maybe he jinxed them the day before with his 'Everything's too easy!' complaints.

Taking a breath to calm his anxiety, the boy returned his focus to the path behind them once more.

**XxXxXxX**

_Kyoshi_

_Southern Residential District_

At the mansion recently discovered by the shadowling, deep underground in a hidden bunker stood a looming figure. Tall with broad shoulders, wearing a simple white coat over a blue collared shirt and black pants with boots, the man regarded the situation in front of him with clinical curiosity.

In front of him was a plated glass window, the room beyond housing several large animals being handled by various lab assistants. Large birds of prey, on par with what the Uzumaki had fought or bigger, several woodland beasts such as bears or mountain lions were present as well.

All were several sizes bigger than they typically were in nature, a telltale sign of each one being a Chakra Mutation-type animal. Some were naturally born, found in the locales around the city of Kyoshi or shipped in from farther away. Others were artificially created, the results of this little experiment of his.

The purpose of him being there, the Chakra Beast Project.

Discover a way to utilize these naturally born weapons, and work to improve upon them in any way possible. That was the ideology behind this project he had been assigned. He was a man well up to the challenge, using all manner of resources to achieve his goal.

Many were of the illegal and even immoral variety, but that was par for the course in this world of shinobi and death dealing. The use of illicit, body destroying drugs or even cursed seals, to boost their effectiveness. Lately he had taken to implanting the chakra networks of shinobi to further enhance the animal's natural abilities. And of course, his team had to develop and implement methods to control these beasts and sell them to the highest bidder.

He was broken from his thoughts as the door to the observation room was opened. Stepping into the room was his right-hand man, the missing-nin from Kumogakure known as Machii. The normally stoic man had a disgruntled look on his face as he stood before his boss.

"Something troubling you, Machii?" The man asked in the quiet of the room, not facing away from the glass.

"Something has come up, Sato-sama. It appears that mistakes were made by our associates last night."

Turning his head, the man glanced at the rogue shinobi out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh?"

"Unfortunately, one of the men in charge of gathering information on the shinobi team lost the file." This caused the man to fully turn to the shinobi, a dark glower on his face at this information.

"How did this happen?"

Flinching at the question and quiet tone behind it, the silver-haired man spoke once more, "I'm not sure, sir. I had some suspicions after finding Noboru in the file room last night. So, I asked around and found out from one of his subordinates about what happened. It looks like Noboru had lost the file late last night and gave me a copy he had made in an attempt to hide the situation form us."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes as the ninja let that bit of information sink into his superior's mind. A questioning glance from Sato was met with an affirmative nod, that particular issue had been resolved prior to the shinobi's report.

The fool who lied and hid his failures was no longer a problem.

Shifting his weight across his feet, Machii spoke up once more, "I have more news as well, I received a report from one of the scouts that the shinobi team left the city some time ago with their clients. Their departure is a day ahead of schedule, though they still left out of the eastern gates as we had learned before."

Machii watched as his boss 'hmm'd' and thought over the situation, before letting out a drawn-out sigh.

"We can't leave the situation to chance; we must prepare for the worst-case scenario. Considering their early departure, we can assume they had obtained the file somehow or otherwise became informed of the situation. We need to begin preparations to move our facilities and products away from here."

Turning towards the door he left the shinobi with a parting order, "Pursue and eliminate that team, we leave nothing to chance."

Nodding to his commander's orders, the former Kumo-nin turned about face and set off to prepare for his mission. The group had left only a scant few hours ago, at the speed of a carriage he would easily be able to catch up to them.

The only question was, where were they going?

**XxXxXxX**

_Hi no Kuni Forests_

_Later that evening_

Team 8 and their clients had made decent time in their harried travel to the friendly outpost. Not long after dusk had passed into true night, they had arrived at the closest point they could on the various roads that ran through the countryside. Now they had one more problem to deal with, what to do with the horses and the carriage?

They didn't have to think about it too long, as the carriage driver himself had come up with a plan of action. The man would take the carriage farther down the road, provide a distraction for the group and their clients to get to the outpost further in the forest. It had taken a few cyclical arguments to convince both Kurenai and Midori that this was the best plan.

In the end, they had acquiesced to the man's desires. Bidding him farewell and safe travels, the team unload their clients' luggage into Naruto's shadow storage and waved the man off. Now emptied of passengers and other weight, the horses easily galloped off at increased speeds. No doubt a big factor in the man's confidence at the plan he had come up with.

Realigning themselves to their proper formation, Kurenai carried Midori while Shino was tasked with carrying Tsuya. Flanked by Shikamaru and Hinata, Naruto brought up the rear as they leaped into the forest to head towards their final destination. Glancing back at the man's shrinking form, Naruto could only mutter out to the night air quietly.

A brief flash of light of his eerily glowing eye was all that could be seen in the dark night as he turned to follow his team toward the outpost.

**XxXxXxX**

Jumping through the trees was one of the fasted ways for shinobi to get around, particularly Konoha shinobi most of all. Specially trained to be at ease in the leafy canopies of _Hi no Kuni, _the average genin was easily capable of hitting 40 miles per hour in the correct condition. The average Chunin was capable of running at 50 mph, while Jonin typically clocked in at around 60 on average. There was always a few who were faster or slower than these averages, but that was typical for shinobi trained to travel through the trees.

Not to say that only shinobi from Konoha was able to reach these speeds, only that they had the easiest time of it thanks to their specialized training and constant exposure to the mighty forests that littered their country.

Kumogakure was also well renowned for the speed of their shinobi, '_Faster than lighting!_' was a typical boast from the elite of the militant village. The excessive amount of shinobi with access to the _Raiton_ (Lightning Release) and its variety of uses, both in combat and in utility such as travel. It had allowed them to keep pace on the rocky grounds of their own country of _Kaminari no Kuni _(Land of Lightning)_._

Boasting a particularly powerful lightning affinity that gained him notoriety in his former village, Machii was quite skillful in his own traveling styles. Dashing from branch to branch, faster than the eye could see, he followed the traveler's road out of Kyoshi.

Though the shinobi team from Konoha had left some time ago, his well-trained eyes could spot the signs of recent travel along this road. It had rained along this road a few days prior, causing the horses to tear up the ground and the wheels to leave stronger impressions. It would seem that they had definitely been this way, though he was a little curious as to why they had been traveling north for the last few miles.

'_Sato-sama may have been right then… A day ahead and changing the route, no way this is a coincidence.'_

Stopping on the branch of a tall tree, the shinobi narrowed his eyes at the darkness of the forest. He pasued for a few moments as he quickly checked a map from his pouch, it had the most up to date tinformation about Konha's movements.

'_If memory serves right, there should be a Konoha Outpost further north of here… things will get hairy if I have to wipe out an entire garrison to silence one team.' _He sighed to himself as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Good thing I brought some backup. I'll have to play this right if we want to make a clean break after we move." The rogue shinobi looked behind him, several oversized animals obediently following him as he moved through the forest.

Half a dozen chakra mutations were at his command, each one easily a match for a chunin on their own. Machii himself was elite jonin level and confident in a fight against the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha in a 1 on 1 fight. The blond boy may have won against one of their special experiments, but these were improved variants. Better in every way and fully capable of tactical combat on their own.

He soon continued on; his beastly backup hot on his trail as he blurred through the trees in hot pursuit of the fleeing Team 8.

Several hours of tracking latter had found Machii at a crossroads of sorts. Following the tracks they had left behind in their rush to get to safety, the missing-nin spotted a divergence from the road and a path taken through the forest. Glancing curiously in either direction, the man took a moment to think on the situation.

'_Carriage tracks continue that way, but there are several markings on those branches out towards the north.' _Kneeling to check over the tracks he walked a bit further up the road to inspect them away from the point of separation.

"Looks shallower than they were before… loss of weight then? Probably separated from each other." Looking back into the forest he contemplated the situation, "The outpost is further in the forest from here, at least according to the last report we got. I can't risk information leaking too much about our operations."

A few hand signs later and the man expelled a cloud of chakra around him, a perfect copy of his form poofing into existence next to him. Nodding to the lightning clone, the shinobi quickly let out a few commands to the assembled beast and soon dashed off into the foliage. All but one of the chakra mutations leaped after the man.

The remaining one regarded the clone with full obedience, said clone letting out a smirk at the success of the indoctrination. The clone let out an order and quickly continued down the road in pursuit of the carriage. Following behind without a sound, the chakra mutation easily kept pace with the shinobi as they blurred down the road.

**XxXxXxX**

_Hi no Kuni Forest_

_Night_

It had frayed the nerves of every person involved, but a few hours past midnight Team 8 had finally arrived at the relative safety of the Konoha Outpost. Pausing some hundred feet away at the behest of the chunin patroller, Kurenai had to give out the proper countersigns and gain clearance to enter the secured zone.

"Halt! Though our enemy's hatred burns strong…?"

Kurenai cleared her throat as she spoke up, "…Yet the will of fire burns stronger!"

Kurenai thought for a moment, a kunoichi's paranoia hard to ignore. She had to be sure, as such she called out the confirmation countersign, "Together we are strong…!"

The man paused for a second at her call, confused for a moment before he responded, "…Forever fight as one!"

Letting out a sigh of relief at the countersign, Kurenai smiled at her team as they all moved ahead to meet up with the chunin. Letting their clients down at long last, they all assembled as several Konoha shinobi came out to greet the arriving team.

Team 8 and their clients were greeted by 3 men dressed in typical chunin garb. One middle-aged man walked ahead of the others, his sharp eyes regarding the genin team and their clients with uncertain curiosity. A few hushed words were exchanged by the jonin and the apparent leader of the outpost. Before long they were all ushered into the security of the garrison in this forest.

Consisting of a few buildings in the shape of a horseshoe, the outpost had a tall three-story building in the center with the left barracks being two stories and the mess hall right being only one. This particular outpost doubled as a frontline fortress at one point many years ago, an ancient relic from the warring clans era decades ago.

The team looked about in relief as several other shinobi and kunoichi appeared around them. A little over a dozen Chunin and Genin were stationed in this outpost, overseen by a veteran Special Jonin. Some quick words from the outpost leader and a dozen of them vanished from site, securing the perimeter and setting up defenses in case of trouble.

This left Team 8 and their clients to be led into the darkened outpost, following behind a kunoichi and shinobi. Team 8's leader gave her team and clients reassurances as she went to follow the outpost commander toward a war room, while the rest of them were taken to a rest area deeper into the building.

Naruto was at the front of Team 8 as their clients were worriedly fidgeting in between their protective formation. Exchanging looks with the rest of his team, Naruto could see they too had some feeling of trepidation within their hearts.

Perking up in surprise, Naruto turned his head to look behind him as he felt Tsuya's hand resting on the back of his shoulder. The young woman was shaking slightly in fear, having grabbed him in an attempt to reassure herself. He turned fully to look at her, giving her a calming smile and a thumbs up.

"Don't worry Tsuya-chan, we are safe here. There's no way someone is stupid enough to attack an outpost from one of the great nations."

"Indeed! You have nothing to worry about Ojou-sama! We are well trained and perfectly able to defend you from anyone who would try to harm you!" Chiming in on the reassurances was a young woman, their guide for the short walk.

"R-right! Thank you, all of you. I'm sure everything will be alright." With her mother's arm wrapped around her shoulder and the assurances of two ninja, the young woman calmed down as they moved further down the hall.

Naruto looked closer at the one leading them along, the girl who had spoken up. She was dressed in the standard chunin garb of dark blue pants and matching shirt with the green flak vest, she was also rather tall and thinly built. She had short brown hair in a pixie cut and looked to be in her late teens or early twenties. What drew his attention, however, was that she had a spear of all things on her back.

Naruto stared at the weapon in curiosity, _'You never see those in use nowadays…'. _The boy thought idly as they entered the room.

Aside from the odd sword user, most shinobi favored the multiuse kunai and the versatile shuriken for all their weaponry needs. Putting those thoughts out of his head, Naruto and his team had their clients rest on the provided couches in the rest area.

As everyone got situated, either on the couch or on the nearby chairs, the chunin tried to spark up a conversation to learn more about the abrupt interruption to their night.

"So, what brings you guys here? Did something happen nearby?" A man spoke up from an armchair. Light skin and the headband turned into a bandana; he had a rather nondescript face as he looked at them in concern.

"Yeah, you could say that." Shikamaru began, the boy nervously looking out a nearby window and leaning against the wall.

"What's going on?" The girl spoke up, looking at the boy in curiosity.

"Before we get into that, we should introduce ourselves, right? Manners and all that." Naruto called out suddenly, trying to dispel the nervous atmosphere that had surrounded team 8 for the entire walk there.

"Oh, right!" Playfully bopping herself on the head, the girl gave them a pleasant smile, "My name is Mio, nice to meet you."

"I'm Nao, it's a pleasure to meet you guys," The young man spoke up.

Team 8 and their clients introduced themselves in turn. By the end of it, everyone seemed to have relaxed a bit. Smiling at the easier atmosphere, Naruto cleared his throat and started to speak once more.

"Now that that's out of the way, we can get back on track," all attention was on the jinchuuriki at that point, "We ended up running into some trouble on our escort mission going through Kyoshi. Some organization started gathering information on us and were trying to target me for some reason or another."

The two older ninja had troubled looks on their faces at that news. Sharing a look between themselves, they turned to the preteens and their clients and gave them reassuring smiles.

"Sounds like you guys were getting in deep. But don't worry about a thing, Katsuo-sama is a legend around these parts. With him and your sensei, no one is gonna be able to get to you guys." Hearing the confidence in the kunoichi's voice helped relieve their stress.

The two continued to chat with the team and their clients, doing their best to keep their mind off the situation playing out in the background.

**XxXxXxX**

Elsewhere in the outpost was Kurenai and the outpost commander. Entering the war room, the commander lit up the room and regarded the jonin before him.

"What kind of intel do you have on the situation, Yuhi-san?" Katsuo asked with full professionalism.

Reaching into her pouch, the woman pulled out a scroll. Taking a moment to unseal the folder, she presented the man with their findings so far.

"My Genin, Uzumaki Naruto, had managed to get his hands on this file late last night. Someone had stalked the boy when he left our inn for some nighttime training. Naruto had detected the man and decided to shadow him back to his base of operations to ascertain his intentions. He had ended up overhearing a discussion regarding him and our team, along with the possibility of involvement of a Chakra Mutation we had run into the day prior."

The special jonin raised an eyebrow at the woman's briefing, "Nice to see a young one with good instincts, he'll make an excellent shinobi in the future. Though what's this about a chakra mutation? We've received no reports about any mutations appearing in the area."

Kurenai's brow furrowed at his question, "Really? I had sent out a message to Hokage-sama about our run in, they should have sent out messenger hawks by now… Unless-"

"-your report was intercepted before it ever made it to Konoha." The man finished for her.

Nodding in agreement to his words, the kunoichi frowned as she stared at the conference table. This mission was FUBAR from the moment Naruto had run into that chakra mutation, wasn't it?

"Well there's no point in ruminating on the past, we need to prepare for the future. Is there anything we know about the organization your genin stumbled on?"

Focusing herself on the present once more, Kurenai nodded and went through all the information that she and her team and gathered over the time that they were in Kyoshi. There was still a lot to go over before the night was done.

**XxXxXxX**

It had taken some time to get their clients calmed, but Team 8 successfully achieved that task as they laid the women to rest. Now in the well-protected bunker-like barracks of the outpost, Naruto and his team rested in an adjacent room to relax. It was a busy, busy day full of stressful events as they did all they could to keep everyone safe for this trip.

The mission was _way_ more troublesome than they had thought it would be.

"_Man_, this sure went tits up didn't it?"

Naruto started out quietly, laying on a cot set up against the wall. Spread out in the surrounding cots was the rest of his team. Shino was sitting on his, leaned up against the wall. While Hinata and Shikamaru were both lying down, facing the blond as they quietly chattered about the situation.

"I blame you." Came the abrupt reply from the lazing Nara.

"W-what? C'mon, it's not like I made this happen!" The boy was feeling quite defensive about the situation.

"You fought the chakra mutation, that got somebody's attention." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Yeah… I guess…"

"You also grabbed the file. There may have been a possibility that they would not have done anything without that." Shino had decided to chime in as well.

"Err… uh…" The Uzumaki was at a loss for words at that.

"A-ano…. It's a little unfair t-to say that Shino-kun," Hinata began, "I-it might have happened a-anyways…"

Naruto gave the girl a teary smile as he looked at her in deference, _'Hinata-chan! I shoulda known I could rely on you!' _

The girl was an angel in disguise, no doubts in his mind.

"Yeah! There's no way I'm the _only _reason it happened… probably…" He felt his confidence wane a bit at the end, was he Murphy's doormat or something?

"Sure, Hinata. Whatever you say." Shikamaru sent the girl a knowing smirk, causing her face to heat up in realization.

"Either way, we should try to get some rest, no telling when something might occur. It's best we don't get ambushed half dead from sleep deprivation." Ever the voice of reason, Shino brought the discussion to a close as the rest of his team agreed and did their best to get comfortable for a quick power nap.

It was this scene that greeted Kurenai several hours later as she entered the room after her meeting with the commander. Gazing at her sleeping team, the woman couldn't help but feel a flare of protectiveness at their innocent faces. She didn't know what might happen, but she was going to do her best to make sure everyone made it out in one piece.

Kurenai soon took up a post at the entrance of the room. Sitting in a comfortable chair, she focused on relaxing her nerves and rested for the next day.

It was going to be a busy day tomorrow, and they had a lot to prepare for.

**XxXxXxX**

Just a bit before the morning light began to show, the commander of the outpost, Katsuo did his checks on the perimeter. He was feeling a little antsy since some of his people hadn't come back for check in yet. He had those who had shown up pull double duty and sent them off to check the security seals on the various trees that lined the clearing the outpost was set up in.

"I'm really not liking how this is playing out…" he muttered out loud, walking towards the southern tree line to check on the seals placed there.

His attention was brought to a curious looking kunai planted in the side of one of the trees. It was oddly longer than a typical kunai and the ring was almost three times the usual size, it wasn't anything he had seen before. Soon his eyes widened as the foreign weapon began to crackle with electricity, he quickly jumped back to avoid whatever was happening. Right as he landed, he began to hear deep growls from the woods around him.

Looking around in surprise, his cry of alarm was drowned out with the sound of thunder.

**XxXxXxX**

**There we go people, what do you think?**

**This one didn't want to be written, computer battery died and lost the first 2/3rds like a week ago and been rewriting it since. Not sure if it's my best work, but hey… it's out at least.**

**How as the perspective changes? Trying a different world building/exposition technique, let me know how it was.**

**I'll try to get the next one out a bit quicker, maybe next Sunday or the Wednesday after that. I find combat scenes and action-y stuff in general is easier to write. Anything to get my blood pumping and get psyched for a battle.**

**As always thanks for reading, review if you please.**

**I'll see you in the next one.**


	12. Enemies at The Gates

**Howdy ya'll, what going on my dear readers?**

**Ready for another installment of Naruto-based fanfiction?**

**Good! Cause this is a big 'un! **

**As always, thank you for the kind reviews, really uplifts and inspires me to write for those who enjoy my work. Here come the long-awaited action scenes we all love and thirst for!**

**LET'S GET READY TO RUUUUUUMMMBBBLLLEEE!**

**I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show!**

**XxXxXxX**

**Chapter 11**

**Enemies at The Gates**

_Konoha Outpost_

_Dawn_

The loud crash of thunder awoke the sleepy inhabitants of the outpost. Jumping up from his cot, Naruto twisted this way and that as he tiredly stood in a combat stance. Half covered in his shawl and his hood turned sideways, he made quite the unintimidating figure as he let out half-inane grumblings.

"Who- what- when- What happened?" He managed, at last, quickly fixing his hood.

Around him the rest of Team 8 stood at groggy attention, looking towards Kurenai as the woman looked out the window with narrowed eyes.

"That didn't sound good.," Looking up at the still-dark sky she clicked her tongue, "Doesn't look like it was rain. We might have a problem, guys." Turning to look at her genin, they all spun about as the door to the room burst open.

In popped one of the chunin, his appearance disheveled and dirty as he stumbled through the door. Steadying himself he quickly reported on the situation, "We got enemies incoming! Several large animals broke through the defense seals. We need all hands to battle stations!"

Frowning at this turn of events, Kurenai looked to her students and quickly thought over the situation. There was no way she was letting them go out to fight, they had no combat experience in meaningful shinobi conflicts. As such, she came to the easy conclusion, have them stay back while she investigated the situation at hand.

"You guys stay here, protect the clients for now. I'm going to head out and see what going on." Seeing their affirmative nods, she quickly ran out the door with the chunin in tow.

Naruto and his team moved around the room to prepare, Shikamaru and Hinata entering the client's room to let them know what was going on. Meanwhile, Naruto looked to the shadows to see what they knew about the situation.

_Danger… Raiton Wielder…._

_Mutations…. Lots…._

He frowned at the whispers, feeling a sense of foreboding appear in his gut at their words. Looking to the others, he thought for a few seconds before steeling himself. Stretching out his shadow, he sent one of his beasts out to go stealthily assist Kurenai in her task.

Better to give his sensei some back up than not, at least his shadow wolf didn't need to worry about dying out there.

Turning back to his team he gave them a thumbs up for reassurance, "Don't worry guys, Kurenai-sensei and that commander guy got this no problem."

Uneasy smiles were his answer as his team settled into their positions, "Right Naruto-san." Shino spoke quietly, his insect swarm slowly leaking from his jacket to fill the room around them. Shikamaru seemed to have a contemplative look on his face as he stood just inside the doorway. Looking back to the worried clients, he had a few thoughts flying through his head as he called out to the Uzumaki.

"Any chance you can get these two into that shadow place?"

Naruto tilted his head curiously in thought, was that an option?

He looked to the shadows around him, shifting his shadow eye's perspective to better see their body language.

_Not possible…._

_You would… have to…_

_Stay..._

_Must be… connected…._

_To the Clan…_

These and other various negatives sounded out from the dark figures in the corner of the room. Turning to the Nara, Naruto shrugged.

"Dunno, no idea for sure but I doubt it. I think it only works for me thanks to my eye. I'd probably have to hold onto them the entire time, there's no telling what would happen if I just left them alone in the Shadow Plane." He explained.

Letting out a sigh at that plan falling through the Nara nodded at the jinchuuriki's explanation.

"Oh well, it was worth a try anyway. For now, set the cots up to block the window and cover the other doors. We need to get rid of any sight-lines someone could get on us."

Nodding at the Nara's instruction, Naruto and Shino quickly moved the furniture around and blocked off the other doors and window in the room. Hinata readied the client's room, placing some cots and tables in there for their clients to hide behind. Their room had no access to the outside, no windows or other doors to the room.

Meanwhile, the Nara quickly set up some tripwire traps in the hall towards the room. A combination of wire snares attached to kunai launchers and paper bombs set with proximity triggers, he was doing all he could to give them the best chance at making it out of the situation in one piece. Marking the corner of the hallway intersection with a special marking Kurenai taught them for notifying allies of traps, he made his way back to the room and waited.

Ready as they could be, Team 8 and their clients waited with anxious eyes as they stared at the doorway.

**XxXxXxX**

Kurenai had arrived outside to the sight of angry black clouds of smoke from flames covering the southern perimeter forest. Far in front of her were several chunin and genin fighting what appeared to be a well-oversized bear and mountain lion. Her eyes widened significantly as a bear let loose a torrent of flame from its mouth to push back a few shinobi.

Looking away from their combating forms, she soon spotted the Outpost Commander, Katsuo, at the other side of the battlefield. He had a bloodied shoulder and heavily scorched vest as he caught his breathe behind cover.

Above the man she could see a large eagle flitting about the air, letting loose bolts of lightning across the ground as if they were nothing. Quickly making her way over to the man, she did what she could to patch him up with minor medical ninjutsu and her combat aid training.

"What the hell is going on commander?" She asked hurriedly, stopping to throw a handful of kunai at the eagle when it neared their position.

Letting out a grunt of pain, the man watched as the eagle reared back and flew away to shoot more bolts of lightning at a squad of his shinobi.

"Goddamned World War 4! These blasted beasts just appeared out of thin air!" He pointed over to the edge of the battlefield, where a smoldering mutation's corpse rested next to a pair of heavily damaged genin, "Those two managed to bomb one of these in the initial surprise attack. It's the only one we've been able to take down though, these bastards are extremely tough."

He let out a sigh as Kurenai finished her wrapping and activating a numbing jutsu to help with the pain. He was down an arm thanks to that initial ambush, whatever that weird kunai was it had sent a ball of lighting streaming through him like a hot knife through butter. Thankfully there was only minor bleeding and the wound had been cauterized by the attack, but he definitely was losing a lot of strength thanks to the wound.

Affixing the man's now limp arm to his chest to keep it out of the way, Kurenai took the opportunity to look around the battlefield once more. To the far side she could she saw a group of shinobi fighting against several of the mutated beasts, her brows furrowed as she took count of the assembled shinobi.

"Are we missing some people?"

"Yeah, 4 never showed up for morning check-in. We have to assume they're KIA or else they'd have been here by now," the commander had a bitter look on his face as he spoke out. Helping the man up and seeing his steely eyes, Kurenai turned to regard the battle before them. The two quickly jumped forward to enter the fray, deciding that they needed to end this before it got worse.

XxXxXxX

At the edge of the forest, a certain rogue shinobi sat and watched the fighting with astute eyes. This was a test on the combat effectiveness as much as it was a cleanup mission for the man and the chakra mutations he had brought along. Though he would have rather brought actual shinobi backup, Sato-sama was not one for large groups of people.

More shinobi meant a bigger chance that a sensor would detect their chakra signatures and grow curious. No matter the fact that sensors were quite rare and also unlikely to be sent out to patrol assumed safe cities like Kyoshi.

A shinobi's paranoia had nothing on his boss's paranoia.

Machii watched as his remaining beasts put the Konoha shinobi through their paces. Though it was unfortunate the wolf had been killed already, it had done well to take those two shinobi down with it. The eagle was easily keeping the ninja at bay, firing constant blasts of lighting with each flap of its wings. The bear and the mountain lion were working together surprisingly well, spouts of flames being tossed about by the bear and boosted by the wind enhance feline.

The last was one of his favorites amongst their products, an earth-nature enhanced snake the size of a telephone pole. The crown jewel of sorts for their program, the beast was almost on par in ability as a low-rank summon from the Snake clan.

The powerful beast was blazing a trail underground, weakening the battlefield and setting the stage for the end game of his little attack. It would burst out to backstab a shinobi with its sharpened spear-like tail or simple use its powerful fangs to crush its foes. The shinobi weren't going to last much longer at this rate, overwhelmed with their inhuman opponents and their enhanced abilities.

He witnessed the Genjustu Mistress of Konoha burst from the outpost entrance. Watching the woman as she quickly dashed across the battlefield towards the man he had ambushed at the very beginning, patching the man up as well she could. Machii nodded to himself, with her now outside he could head inside to handle the team and their clients. He could easily wipe out whoever was still inside with some clones or maybe even grab one of the brats to use as a hostage for his endgame gambit.

Affirming himself of his plan, he made a few hand signs to create some lightning clones to head into the outpost to take care of the genin and their clients. Three clones appeared behind him, quickly vanishing from his side to head into the outpost to carry out their orders. Just a few more minutes and this would be over.

Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out and readied several of his unique kunai. While it would be best to get the mutations to finish this on their own, he really didn't want to deal with his boss's ire at the loss of any more of the products.

A brief flash of light was the only warning his opponents got as he vanished in a body flicker in the midst of them.

XxXxXxX

In the middle of pushing back the mighty claws of the massive bear, Kurenai and a chunin felt the burst of chakra signifying a new arrival. Using her well-earned skills as a jonin, Kurenai managed to jump back and avoid a swift blow to her blind spot. Despite the warning and her cry of 'Scatter!' the chunin with her was too slow. Exhaustion from the late night and the frantic combat with the shockingly powerful chakra mutations had left the man with slow reflexes.

A loud cry of pain was all the Konoha shinobi could hear as the vision of their comrade being cut down in front of them played out. Standing over the newest casualty of the battle was a well-tanned, silver-haired man. Clearly being from the village of Kumo, and a missing-nin to boot, a new foe had arrived to make the battle even harder.

There was a pause in combat as all those involved stood in shocked silence. The beasts merely stood behind the man in dutiful obedience, regarding the Leaf shinobi with growls and threatening noises. The newest arrival simply gazed at the harried Konoha-nin with a rather indifferent look on his face.

No words were exchanged as the Konoha shinobi stared down their rogue opponent. Giving the assembled ninja a cold smirk, the man let loose a torrent of kunai around the shinobi. Several of them blocked or dodged as he tossed over 2 dozen kunai at the tired ninja.

His smirk grew as the shinobi focused more on him and his beasts then the kunai he had thrown out. Flying through a dozen hand signs in moments, he dodged backward as Kurenai tossed a dozen shuriken at him and followed his leap back. _'I need to stop his jutsu!' _Clashing blades with the man, her eyes widened as the crackling of electricity reached her ears.

'_I wasn't fast enough!' _

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw multiple kunai implanted in the ground with Raiton chakra coursing through them. Looking back at her opponent she was shocked to see his unoccupied hand still holding a seal.

"One-handed signs?!" she gasped out. Such a skill was rare to see in combat due to the difficulty of maintaining the required concentration while also defending.

"Hn, you better dodge." His deep voice warned suddenly, "_Raiton: Thunder God's Dynamo!"_

At the call of his jutsu, the stored-up lightning suddenly burst from the kunai in the direction of every Konoha shinobi. Numerous electrical orbs of various sizes burst from the oversized rings of the custom kunai. With a symphony of thunderous cracks sounding out as the orbs blazed an ungodly quick trail at the rogue ninja's opponents.

Twisting herself away from the man's kunai, Kurenai attempted to dodge the half dozen orbs flying at her. Landing away her eyes widened as she felt another orb heading toward her back, unable to dodge the quick attack she did what she could to prevent damage.

With a quick twist of her torso, she tried to prevent the lightning orb from piercing her back. Feeling the electricity burning a path across her back, she let out a yelp of pain as she stumbled forward. Smirking triumphantly at the jonin's newest injury, Machii dashed forward to hit the woman while she was reeling from the shock of his attack.

His kunai was soon buried deep in the woman's stomach as he appeared in front of her. Twisting the blade to the side, he tore it from her side and watched as the woman fell to the ground with a whimper.

"So much for the mighty Leaf's elite, it's a wonder your village ever survived a war." He taunted in victory. His eyes widened as the woman's body dissolved into pink flower petals as she hit the ground.

"Allow me to show why we were more than strong enough to _win_ those wars."

Appearing from her genjutsu, the woman swiped towards the man's neck with a kunai in each hand. Catching the shinobi by surprise, she felt her blades dig deep into the man's throat and saw the blood begin to spurt from the wound.

Her confidence was shattered immediately as the man's body exploded in a burst of electricity, the energy coursing through her body and trapping her in place as her muscles locked up.

"W-what?!"

She never noticed the man switch with a clone! From behind her, the mountain lion rushed forward to end the woman's life in her vulnerable state.

"Die."

At his quiet demand, the man reappeared at the other end of the battlefield, gazing at the woman coldly as his Chakra Mutations resumed their attacks on the gathered shinobi. A loud yowl from the mountain lion sounded across the battlefield as it bared its sharp teeth upon the stunned woman's back.

"_**-HOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLL-"**_

The loud howl of a wolf called out from the woman's shadow, a massive wolf bursting from behind her to tear into the leaping feline's throat.

Caught by surprise, the chakra mutation was sent flipping back with the shadow beast on top of it. Sliding across the ground, it struggled to throw off the shadowy wolf for a few moments before its throat was torn clean from its body. Barely any flesh was left attached to its bones as the creature tore everything away in a shower of blood.

Vanishing in a smoky cloud, it reappeared protectively over the prone Kurenai. The woman could only look at the beast in surprise, in awe of its massive form as the shadow smoke and blue energy wafted off its form in all its splendor.

'_That blue glow looks like Naruto's eye… is this one of Naruto's summons?'_

Utterly shocked by the surprise arrival of the shadow wolf, Machii had to take a few seconds to reorganize himself. "Attack, NOW!" Commanding the chakra mutations back into action, he made a dash for a few genin that were too distracted to react to his attack.

That beast wasn't trying to defend anyone else, so this was a good chance to take care of the fodder before Kurenai or that commander got back into the fight. Leaping into the air he went through a few hand signs before aiming both hands at the genin, crying out "_Raiton: Piercing Darkness!_"

Two large bolts of lightning burst from his fingertips, straight lances of pure electricity that could pierce the thickest armor. It was then a loud crash was heard right in front of the man, dust rising from the ground to block his vision.

In front of him was a massive lion, well over twice the size of a typical savannah cat. It was bloodied and clearly no longer alive and had been thrown in the way of his attack. Absorbing most of the energy, what had pierced through thick muscle and strong hide did little to the shinobi behind the corpse.

Machii's eyes nearly flew from his sockets at the beast's appearance, "That's the one I sent after the carriage!"

A loud screeching cry was heard above the battlefield, causing everyone able to look up at the newest arrival. A massive pitch-black bird flew above them, its body exuding that same smoky darkness and blue misty energy as the wolf. Its eyes were particularly shining, however, as it gazed down at the battlefield. Looking at the rogue shinobi, the mighty avian predator narrowed its brilliant gaze at the man and dove down to enter the fray.

The shinobi of Konoha had received powerful reinforcements.

XxXxXxX

Inside the outpost, a certain Uzumaki was grinning triumphantly as his remote viewing of the battlefield allowed him to see the results of his minion's interference. It had been some time since he had sent Gou out to keep an eye on the carriage driver, he was unsure if it was even necessary in the first place. But he was happy for his paranoia.

That rogue shinobi had sent a clone and a mutation after the carriage just in case Team 8 had pulled a fast one. Instead only a scant 40 minutes ago, Gou had surprised them both by bursting from the shadow of the carriage and easily slicing through the clone and deftly beating the lion. His incredible strength and wind-based techniques allowed him to overpower the earth-based abilities of the lion, making the fight one-sided as soon as his wind cut through the lion's attacks and defense.

Even the backlash from the destruction of the lightning clone that Machii had sent did little to stop the shadow falcon. The Elite Shadow Beast had taken only a few seconds to regenerate from the damage caused by the lightning to begin its attack on the lion.

After receiving the feeling of combat and victory from Gou, Naruto had quickly activated his remote viewing technique to find out what had gone on. Seeing the situation, he had called it back to assist the shinobi outside. Having it bring the corpse of the chakra mutation, just in case it could be of use to the boy.

It had proven a useful tool, acting as a barrier against the strong attack that Machii had sent out toward the genin's comrades outside. Now with the powerful Gou at the battlefield, the Konoha shinobi stood a much better chance against their mutated foes. Spotting the missing-nin, Naruto had the shadow falcon begin its assault in earnest.

It was time to turn the tables!

_Incoming…! DANGER….!_

_DEFEND…!_

The boy was brought from his revelry as the shadows actually began to _scream _warnings at the boy. Shocked at hearing the voices so loud, the genin had immediately deactivated his remote viewing technique to summon his shadow to the front of the group. Holding his hands up, he clenched his fist and willed the shadows to do his bidding.

"_INTON: DARK WEAVE BARRIER!" _Calling out his defensive technique with strength, the shadows weaved themselves into a sturdy shield to cover the group, just as a multitude of explosions rang out from the hallway.

"W-what the hell?!" Straining to keep his balance as the building rocked, Shikamaru looked past the shadow shield to see plumes of fire spread throughout the room.

Something had set off his traps, but whatever it was also had added its own firepower to the bombs to turn the tables on them!

In front of them, Naruto struggled to keep feeding chakra to his eye, attempting to keep his shield up despite it being burnt through rapidly by the natural weakness it had to flames. The sheer strength of the fire and explosions hadn't helped either.

From behind the boy, two wolves immediately burst from the shadows of their clients. The overwhelming need to protect their Lord form any harm had overridden their previous commands, the two standing protectively in front of the shadow wielder as their forms seemed to darken in rage prepared for combat.

The genin was surprised by the appearance of the shadow beasts, only to turn their attention to the smoldering entrance to the room. Stepping from the blacked hallway, two similar-looking men appeared to greet them.

"It seems we underestimated the strength of those traps, to think one of us actually got destroyed by something a genin had set up." One spoke up suddenly, eyeing the group of people behind the barrier.

"You! You're that missing-nin working for the people watching us!" Naruto called out accusingly.

One of the clones simply looked at the irate boy, dismissing his anger as if he were a buzzing fly. The other, however, without a single word uttered, suddenly vanished from their sight. The genin immediately tried to ready themselves for an attack, only to find their defenses useless.

A blast of lightning pierced the shield easily, striking Shino in the torso just as he began his signs for a replacement jutsu with a log he had prepared. The boy's body convulsed as hundreds, if not thousands of his hive simple exploded within his form from the huge number of volts running through him.

"""Shino!""" the cries of his teammates rang out from the rest of his squad as the Aburame fell to the ground in pain. Hinata attempted to grab the boy and pull him to safety, only for a clone to appear in front of the young kunoichi with his hands held out.

"_Raiton: Final Flash." _ Shocked by the man's sudden appearance, the girl had looked right at him just has chakra exploded from his palms. A blinding flash of light and the sound of crashing thunder filled the room as the girl tumbled back. Her eyes were unseeing, and ears let out trickles of blood from her close proximity to the jutsu.

The bright flash banished the shadows away, the light too much for Naruto's jutsu or wolves to maintain their forms for a few moments. It was all the clones needed, as just as the girl let out a cry and fell back in pain, they moved to disable the rest of the genin.

A harsh punch was sent to the sternum of the Nara, sending the temporarily blind boy flying back to the room with his clients. The other clone had reappeared in front of Naruto, ready to skewer the boy on the kunai it held, only for a spike of darkness to burst from the Uzumaki's cloak to pierce its chest.

The spike struck true, nailing the surprised clone through its heart and dispelling it in a shower of sparks. The consequences of this move quickly took hold of the boy's body as he immediately fell to the ground in convulsions as the electricity caused his muscles to lock up. The sole remaining clone gave the young Shadow Lord an impressed look as he stepped back to avoid his own spike of darkness.

"Quick reactions for one so green to the world of shinobi. I'd say I'm almost impressed if you weren't all already defeated." The clone remarked grudgingly as it gazed upon the defeat forms of the genin team in front of it.

Then again, what else had he expected from genin? They weren't strong enough to put up a fight, no matter how clever they thought they were. The difference between a genin and a jonin such as him was beyond night and day, it was more like trying to compare the moon to a dozen suns.

"Too bad you won't live long enough to be interesting in the future, however." Muttering to itself quietly, the clone knew his words fell on literal deaf ears. The previous technique would have no doubt destroyed the senses of the genin who bore the full brunt of it.

"D-don't count m-me out yet, bastard!" the clone was pleasantly surprised as the Uzumaki rose up to one knee, a pained grimace on his face as he glared at the clone.

"Oh? You managed to block the light out?"

"You mean that little camera flash of yours? Ha! It'd be more effective to stare at the moon!" The boy called out brazenly, stumbling to his feet as his wolves reformed themselves before him once more.

His hood had blocked most of the light, as well as the shadows themselves rushing to cover his eyes just milliseconds before the attack went off. Though his ears were still ringing worse than a hundred church bells, he was still able to fight!

"Is that so?" the clone seemed unperturbed by the boy's defiance, simply taking his time to check over the others to see their complete defeat at the hands of his clone brethren.

"Be sure to tell Tsukuyomi how much you'd rather gaze at the moon in the afterlife, I'm sure she will be happy to hear it." The clone remarked idly, staring the boy down as he contemplated this turn of events.

Naruto's eyes widened as his mind raced to comprehend the situation, his perception of time slowing as his thoughts went a thousand miles an hour to figure out a path to take.

Almost the entirety of Team 8 is disabled, possible fatalities amongst two of four. He was also operating under almost total deafness.

His gaze darted about the room to take in other details, the barracks they had rested in had a single entrance from the main building. The hallway the rogue ninja had taken, and simply exploded his way through. The room wasn't very big, maybe 30 by 50 overall with the long side going from the hallway to the room his clients had rested in.

It was very close quarters combat, something the boy knew he wasn't unparalleled in. Though he did have some advantages.

The room was smoky from the explosives used, somewhat blocking his opponent's sight.

His wolves were back to prime condition after their earlier destruction.

His teammates were somewhat safely behind the boy and his minions

His opponents had decreased to only one remaining clone, who no doubt wasn't as strong as the original no matter how easily he had cleared the genin out.

The shadows had recovered from the attack, and they were _pissed._

_Prepare yourself…_

_Time to…._

_Fight…_

Feeling the shadows embrace his form, the boy stood a bit steadier on his feet as he willed the shadows to pull his teammates to the safety of the back room. All the while the clone watched the boy idly, waiting for him to finish his objective before crushing the boy's feeble attempts at fighting back.

Readying himself in a fighting stance, Naruto's eye glowed brightly in the slowly darkening room. With his feet set wide and hands at the ready, he was as prepared as he could be to fight the clone of a man several magnitudes more powerful then he was.

With barely a twitch of movement, the young shadow lord dashed forward with kunai in hand with his wolves greet his greatest foe in battle for the fate of his friends and his mission.

**(Totally thought about leaving it there, but one cliffhanger is good enough for this arc! Let's get it going to the end ya'll!)**

He was met with the kunai of his clone opponent. Clashing blades with the chakra construct, Naruto grit his teeth as he tried to gain leverage. Around the side his wolves darted into his opponent's blindspot, trying to dig their fangs into the man.

Machii quickly took a step back, causing the genin to lose his balance and the wolves to miss their attack at the same time. With a single slash of his kunai, he sent all three flying away. Naruto landed from the attack, skidding several feet back. It had been a close one right there, he had barely managed to throw his blade up in time to block the attack. Even then he had gotten disarmed and sent flying backward.

So, this was the strength of a jonin?

It was terrifying.

To his sides, he saw his wolves reform, back to pristine condition and prepared to keep fighting. This wasn't going to be easy; he was hoping to get the clone wrapped up fighting him and getting killed by the shadow soldier's attacks. Even now he could feel consistent dips on his chakra, his shadow beasts outside were getting beaten pretty well.

He wasn't sure just how long he would last if he had to use too much chakra to fight this clone. For now, he set himself back in his stance, channeling shadow energy through his form. Around them, the room the shadows darkened even more, something the clone took note of.

"Another trick up your sleeve?" he questioned idly, grabbing a second kunai and beginning to channel Raiton chakra into them.

"Just you wait, I'll show you a trick!"

At the boy's declaration, he threw his hands forward, his eye a blazing beacon of blue in the shadows. All around the clone, dozens of shadowy pillars burst forth. Converging on his position, they flew with incredible speeds to land any blows they could.

Twisting and flipping his body around, his two kunai easily diced up and held the shadow appendages at bay. Cutting them off at the source while sliding under a few, he made his way back towards the boy to end this fight. His speedy descent was halted as the growls from below him warned him of impending danger.

Stopping suddenly, he jumped back to avoid the shadow wolves bursting from the ground in front of him. His own shadow rose up as well, attempting to impale him on deadly spikes as he continued to fall back and avoid danger. Repeatedly jumping back, the clone let out a grunt of frustration.

'_This is getting obnoxious; I don't have enough chakra left over to use a strong enough jutsu to end the fight now.' _The boy was impossible to get to in this enclosed space, with this much shadow to work with he was well above his rank in danger towards others. Looking around out of the corner of his eye, the clone saw the wolves once more fade into the darkness.

Noticing the solid black floor more than before, Machii realized what exactly the boy had done to turn the tides in the fight.

"You made the entire floor covered in your own shadow, didn't you?"

Naruto let out a smirk at the question, "I call it _Inton: Lord's Domain_, everything I do is twice as strong like this. My jutsu and my beasts, there's no way to stop it either. Not without the sun showing up."

The clone simply smirked at the boy's bravado, this genin actually thought he was holding a jonin back without any trouble, wasn't he?

Well, it was an adult's duty to teach misguided children the error of their ways, he was just going to be a lot more lethal about it.

Landing at the back end of the room, right next to where the entrance was, he gained a moment's reprieve as the shadows stopped their attack. The clone reached into his pouch, he had something for this situation. Tossing out three tags to the ceiling, he held his hand out in a half ram hand sign in preparation.

Naruto's eyes widened as he tried to stop the clone, only for his vision to be completely engulfed by whiteness. Let out a cry of pain as he stumbled back, he could vaguely hear the cries of his wolves and the shadows themselves. Cracking open his real eye, he saw what exactly the tags had done. Each one was lit up like a spotlight, shining incredibly bright light throughout the room.

The placement of each one had gotten rid of any shadows he could have used to fight. Even his wolves were weakened incredibly, whimpering slightly as the light scorched their forms. Looking back to his opponent, Naruto was even more shocked to find the man missing. Immediate jumping away from his position, he tried to call forth any shadow to help defend him with a shield.

His reaction was too late as a blindingly painful feeling entered his side. Looking down he saw a kunai buried in the side of his gut just under his armored cloak, blood seeping out of the wound. Following the hand towards its owner, he saw the clone of Machii gazing at him indifferently.

"And this is the end, little genin. It was a good try, but you rely too much on your shadows." The man didn't even bother to look as he backhanded the wolves away from him, the two shadow creatures desperately trying to defend their master. As they hit the wall and dispersed, Naruto felt an _insane_ drain come out of nowhere to his chakra.

Despite himself, he canceled the summoning, trying to preserve whatever chakra he had left to try to survive this encounter. Coughing up foamy blood, the boy clenched onto the clone's hand. Trying to hold the blade away from him, he feebly struggled against the man's superior strength. His actions were met with a second hand grabbing him by the throat and lifting him up into the air.

"Such a shame too, you just had to make an enemy of us. If only you had simply let sleeping dogs lie, none of this would have happened."

"W-what...?" the boy gasped out.

"Someone took that file, which made my boss decide to sanitize everything. If whoever had taken that file simply left well enough alone, there would have been no reason for this to happen." The simple, straight forward, matter-of-fact manner in which he spoke seemed to be like a verbal gut punch to the blond with every word.

'_It's all my fault… I did this…', _it was enough to bring tears of frustration to the boy's eye.

Watching as his opponent fully broke down in front of him, the clone of the rogue ninja smirked triumphantly. With that, the man removed his kunai and tossed the boy back against the wall.

Watching the boy slowly sit up while holding his wound made him feel rather unhappy with the situation. From how Sato-sama had spoken of these 'Shadow Contract' users, they should be greater opponents then the boy ended up being.

"Fear not, little genin, the rest of your team will be joining you soon. If they've not already gone ahead that is." He prepared his kunai for the last time, slowly walking towards the boy in his near-catatonic state.

'_It's my fault people died. I ruined everything!'_ the boy continued to wallow in self-pity for a few seconds before the man's movement caught his eye, _'…I can't let this be the end, not yet. I have to get everyone else out of this, even if I go down!'_

Sending the last dregs of his chakra to his eye, the boy let out a defiant glare towards the clone and released a long coughing fit.

Finishing his fit, he looked the clone in the eye and quietly mutter something to him, "…m"

Looking at the boy, he tilted his head as he attempted to hear his final words.

"What's that?"

"I… said…. boom…."

Eyes widening suddenly at the child's words, he looked down to look for an explosive tag. None were present, not a kunai or even the sound or smell of a burning tag. Angered by the mockery of the boy, he set himself and began to move forward to end the impudent child.

He missed the grin on Naruto's face as his eye began to once more glow brightly. Lifting his foot as he ran forward, Machii missed the nearly burnt-out remains of a tag rising from his shadow. With only a second to spare, his eyes widened as the world burst into flame around him

"Ha…! Take that… stupid clone…" the boy mumbled in victory, the light tags around the room dispersing at the clone's defeat. Naruto grinned triumphantly as he sat in the darkness, a bittersweet victory if he had ever had one.

Thinking about his teammates, he tried to gauge their conditions. Hinata was probably the least damaged in relevance towards the others, though that jutsu Machii had used was no joke. Even now the boy could hear the loud ringing in his ears, there was no telling how bad the girl had it from being point-blank to the technique.

Shikamaru had received one hell of a blow that had sent him flying into the back room. Naruto knew for a fact he had heard a crack in the blow, hopefully, the Nara landed better then he flew off. There was no telling how he was doing.

Shino was the most worrisome one. The lightning attack had pierced straight through his barrier, only barely being weakened by the shadow jutsu before it hit the Aburame flush. The Uzumaki wasn't sure if the twitching was a good thing or not, no real medical experience to even see if the other boy was alive in the first place.

As for the civilians? He had no earthly clue if they were okay, though safe-ish in the back room they were. He hadn't heard a peep from anyone for a few minutes now.

"_-cough-…_anyone alive …back there…?" he called out unsurely as he put pressure on his wound. It was feeling slightly better, but he couldn't breathe that well.

_Unconscious…._

_But alive…_

_Need help…._

_Soon…_

The whispers of the shadows spoke up once more, giving the boy some peace of mind on the situation. Nodding to their voices, he slowly got up with the help of some shadowy constructs lifting his arms. Entering the backroom, he looked at the individual forms of his team and clients laid out around the end of the room by the shadows earlier.

He let out a sigh as he saw their forms, their chest rising and falling and altogether showing signs of life. Shino was still twitching, his form burnt from the attack, but he was breathing somewhat steadily. Hinata was quivering in the back, some form of semi-consciousness taking hold while she laid there in pain. Shikamaru was on the overturned bed, haphazardly laid on his back from the blow from earlier. He looked to be breathing with some difficulty, but hopefully, he would make it until he could get care.

Looking behind them was the unconscious forms of his clients, huddled together behind the impromptu barricades they had set up. No doubt the incredible pressure from the jonin's clones had caused them to faint. The killing intent alone from that final attack had made him lock up in fear if he hadn't already set up that tag to go off, he didn't think he had the wherewithal to have done it then.

Sliding down the wall, the boy let out a raspy sigh as he tried his best to patch himself up. He could only hope Kurenai and the others had beaten the rest of the invaders at this point.

The boy had only just finished when loud noises began to emanate from the shadows.

_DANGER…!_

_ESCAPE…!_

_RUN….!_

The shadows _screamed _warnings at the boy, only for him to look about in surprise as the building around him shook before ultimately collapsing in on itself. As the room become entombed in dust and stone, the Uzumaki was thrown against the wall. Through his concussed vision, he saw the room begin to collapse.

"Someone…help…" he whispered out pleadingly as his eyes fell shut.

**XxXxXxX**

The addition of the shadowy wolf and falcon had provided a great boon to the nearly overrun Konoha shinobi. Thanks to their unique ability to charge headlong into battle and completely shrug off fatal damage, they had not had any more fatalities since Machii's beginning gambit.

The rogue ninja himself was beyond annoyed at the new additions, already seeing his chakra mutations being pushed back and slowly defeated one by one as he continued to fight against the other shinobi. That blond-haired brat had to be the one behind this, wasn't he?

It wouldn't matter soon, there was no doubt that his clones were closing in on the genin team to dispose of them. Make sure they couldn't escape if not outright kill them, then he could swap out with a clone to distract the jonin with a hostage situation. Then the final part of his assault will begin, and he would finish this battle.

Konoha was notoriously weak-willed when it came to the wellbeing of the next generation.

It was well known that several of their promising shinobi had sacrificed themselves for the novelty of the next generation. Very foolish of them, the next generation could be replaced, trained to fill in that role. The experienced generation, the ones who fought and won wars couldn't be lost, all that knowledge and power going to waste for the possible '_potential' _of some snot-nosed brat was downright laughable to numerous shinobi.

He merely had to hold out to the end, something he was fully capable of doing despite his losses so far. Though him or his beasts hadn't killed anyone since his initial intrusion on the battlefield, it hadn't meant that they were easily being pushed back. Indeed, now there only laid a few battle-ready shinobi on Konoha's side.

The commander, Kurenai, a young chunin with a spear, and a clearly exhausted genin who had only made it this far off of pure luck. The addition of the shadow beasts may well have been a full shinobi squad in return though. The falcon was easily keeping the lighting spewing eagle at bay, deftly avoiding its thunderous blasts across the sky while wheedling its health down impact by impact with its powerfully reinforced wings.

The wolf was doing the same, working side by side with the jonin kunoichi to fight back the rogue shinobi who had dared to attack his Lord. Kurenai had managed to recover well enough from the shock to her system to restart her battle. She was pleasantly surprised that the wolf worked well together with her fighting style, unknowing of the fact that the creature had been observing her and the rest of Team 8 from the inside of the Uzumaki's shadow this whole time.

Adapting to any situation required of it by its Lord was only to be expected of the first of Naruto's mighty shadow soldier army. Their pride in their status as a soldier of a shadow lord provided all the motivation they had needed to learn the ins and outs to fighting with others, whenever the situation would demand it they would do their best and die trying to please their Master.

Exchanging another flurry of blows, Machii and Kurenai separated once more in the middle of the battlefield. Chancing a glance to the side, Machii bore witness to his eagle taking a powerful blow to the wing and nose-diving directly to the ground. It clearly wasn't going to be getting back up from that impact, it wasn't equipped with a reinforcement technique like the falcon experiments had been.

Pure ranged destruction and rapid movement marked their use in battle, the eagles were glass cannons in the simplest of terms. Looking over he saw that he ground unit fare much better, only the commander of the outpost and a single chunin still standing against the bear. He couldn't help but flinch upon the sight of the other beasts, each thoroughly finished by his opponents and no longer capable of battle if they were even alive anymore in the first place.

Returning his glare to his opponent, he made sure to keep note of the shadowy falcon flying above. No doubt the beast was going to gun for him next, seeing him as the bigger threat to those inside the outpost.

"It's over Nuke-nin, there's no way you're getting out of here alive if you keep this up. Better give up or else you will die today, just like those monsters you brought with you." At Kurenai's cold statement, Machii let out a light chuckle.

"You really believe you and some mutt are really able to handle me? You have no more back up, and I am fully aware of the weakness of these little shadow beasts."

"What?"

"Watch…" With a smirk on his face, the man moved to attack the woman. The shadow wolf immediately dived forward in an attempt to bite down on the man, only to be tricked by a feint.

Stopping suddenly from his jump with the liberal use of chakra, Machii watched as the wolf fell short of hitting him. Thrown off by the sudden change in the flow of battle, the wolf didn't have the chance to recover as the rouge shinobi suddenly flashed through numerous hand sign and held his palms out in front of himself.

Spreading his hands out, he soon slammed them onto the ground and released the pent-up chakra.

Without any chance to escape, the wolf witnessed as a planted kunai below it burst to life with electricity. He had perfectly trapped the beast in a continuous stream of energy as the shadow soldier got stuck in a loop of regeneration and destruction. This lasted only a few seconds before the beast stopped reforming completely, the summoning holding its form being ended.

Witnessing the loss of her backup, the jonin immediate set herself into motion. Kurenai tossed a handful of kunai at Machii in his distraction. At the same time, the shadow falcon dove down to strike the man from behind, taking advantage of the corralling throw could only allow the man to jump back.

Instead of falling for their ploy, Machii surprised them all by flipping in midair. Slamming his lightning infused palm into the falcon, he simultaneously disabled the beast and sent himself careening out of harm's way. Landing a dozen feet away he smirked at the jonin before he held his hand up.

"This is the end."

With that remark, he snapped his finger in a grandiose showing, the noise sounding out throughout the clearing despite the raging fire in the background.

A brief flash of light filled the leaf shinobi's vision, to reveal another Machii with an unconscious Hinata held in his arms.

"Hinata!" the girl's sensei called out worriedly.

"Step back, unless you want the girl hurt." The clone remarked, holding a kunai to the unconscious girl's neck.

Unsure at their situation, Kurenai couldn't do anything but obey the clone's commands. Unwilling to let the genin get hurt, she desperately tried to come up with a plan to save her. The clone looked at the results of the battle, surveying the torn-up field they had all fought in over the last hour.

The bear had finally been defeated, with its opponents too exhausted to assist the jonin, however. There was no sign of life in his other mutations, each had been killed off by now. Shifting its gaze to the ground, it saw the subtle flick of a tail from the entrance of the main building of the outpost.

"Let her go!"

Returning to the woman in front of him, the clone looked back to its creator inquisitively. Seeing the man's nod, it tossed the young genin straight at the jonin with little care as it dispersed.

Shocked at the change in events, Kurenai held her arms out to try to cushion the girl's fall. Only to open her eyes wide as the shadow falcon suddenly flew directly at the soaring genin, colliding solidly and creating a massive burst of electricity.

"W-what!?" she cried out in surprise, watching the bird disintegrate in the blast.

Looking back at the rogue shinobi, she was once again shocked to see the man gone from his spot. Looking around she tried to find him, only to spin around at a loud crashing sound rose up from behind her.

The outpost itself was crumbling before their eyes, the walls falling in as the ground suddenly dropped out from below it. The few remaining conscious Konoha shinobi could only let out surprised cries as they tried to escape the sinking building, the ground rushing out from it to try and drag them all into a rubble-filled tomb.

The dust settled as the shinobi looked around, no longer able to see any sign of their opponent or even the beasts he had fought them with. Each one had been buried, dragged underground by the collapsing outpost caused by the long-forgotten snake mutation from the beginning of the battle.

"So that's what that blasted thing was up to…" The commander uttered quietly, eyes hard at the utter destruction and demolition of a single animal.

Kurenai stood unsteady on her feet as she neared the man, the wounds from several close calls with her lightning using opponent aggravated by the movement and dust. Her eyes were wild as she panted and stumbled her way past the commander.

"My team!"

**XxXxXxX**

Turning her stumbling gait into a brisk jog, the woman ran around the perimeter of the rubble in hopes that her team had fled out the window of the room they had been in earlier.

She was met with the sight of the lot of them laid out on the grass, a dark shadowy figure standing over them. Before she could get close, the figure turned to look at her for a moment, before it vanished into the inky darkness. Disintegrating fully before she could reach it, Kurenai never got a good look at the figure before she checked on the state of her team.

Each one had looked like they had been through a tough fight, with clothes torn and dirtied from the collapse of the building. She saw suitably treated wounds on each of their forms, seeing the fresh bandages wrapped around Shino and Naruto's chests as they all laid there in blissful unconsciousness.

"Someone… treated them? Who?" She looked around once more, seeing nothing for a moment before her eyes landed on a bloodied splotch of land.

Looking closer at the oddity, her eyes widened like saucers at the beaten and bloodied form of the snake mutation laid before her. Looking for all the world like someone had plucked the creature right out of the ground like a vegetable, she could still see the heat rising from the corpse. Its decapitated head laid a few feet away, mouth wide as if it had attempted to bite its attacker.

"What the hell?" The jonin turned around to see the outpost commander behind her, walking with the assistance of the sole awake chunin.

"W-who did t-that?" the young woman asked, looking at the corpse in shock.

Kurenai could only shake her head in disbelief, no words for the situation playing out in front of her. "I have no idea, but whoever it was is gone now," with that she went back to her genin.

She let out a sigh of relief after a few minutes of inspection, whoever was here had stabilized the children. They weren't out of danger, but they would last at least until someone could get to them or they could get back home.

"Please tell me you have a medic-nin on hand." The jonin remarked after a moment, turning to look at Katsuo as he and the rest of the outpost shinobi were set up around them.

"We did, no idea where he's at though. He was one of the ones who never checked in last night." He grunted out, wincing as the female chunin dressed one of the burns he had gotten from fighting that bear at the end.

Kurenai sighed at the new information, it was lucky no one was in danger right now. They had all made it out with only moderate wounds, barely any were truly serious. They were lucky to have survived against that nukenin and his chakra mutations.

"I sent one of my men able enough to head to town for supplies and to dispatch a message back to the Hokage, hopefully, we'll have reinforcements before the day is done," Katsuo remarked after all was said and done. Kurenai nodded to the man, grateful for his forethought and initiative.

With the remaining shinobi set up on whatever cots or rolls they could find they all rested while they could. Kurenai took to carefully watching over her slumbering students and their unfortunate clients as the sun rose fully towards the center of the sky.

Team 8's first C-rank mission was over; it was a failure but…

They were alive.

**XxXxXxX**

**There it is people, the finale of the Mission Gone Wrong Arc. What do you think?**

**About 9500 words of action, pain, and combat! Was it worth the wait?**

**Speaking of which, my bad… I had thought I had uploaded this last week. It was even put onto the dang website but the chapter never got sent out! Glitchy B.S.!**

**I rewrote the dialogue and action a few times, trying to keep things consistent. Tell me how it works for ya.**

**Expect realism in this particular fictional work, this ain't yo daddy's shounen manga! People will die, they will be hurt, and there will be consequences for their actions. **

**No whining about Team 8's decimation, as far as I'm concerned they got off easy with actually surviving the fight in the first place. Machii is my answer to the Zabuza fight, who probably would have cut all of the genin and Tazuna in half if he wasn't so busy showing off to Kakashi in their fight.**

**Anyways, review if you please and I'll see you in the next one.**


	13. The Aftermath

**Hello, once again dear readers of the internet! How's it going?**

**Super sorry about the horrible wait, moved back to the states after two years **_**and **_**started up my online college once again. Then I got a night job… It's been a hectic couple of months so far if I say so myself.**

**Updates will end up slowing as a result, but I'll do my best to get them out in a much more timely manner.**

**Anyways! As always, I don't own Naruto, rights to that character and story go to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Solo Leveling (Otherwise known as Na Honjaman Lebel-eob) that one goes to light novel author Chu-Gong.**

**Without further ado, let's get on with the show!**

**XxXxXxX**

**Chapter 12**

**The Aftermath**

_Konohagakure_

_Hokage Tower_

The elderly form of the Third Hokage of Konohagakure sat hunched over his desk as he read the report from one of his rising jonin. Yuhi Kurenai had just arrived just a few days after she and her team had left, bringing back horrible news and her team injured greatly.

Looking up from the written report, Hiruzen looked to see the guilt-ridden face of the sensei of Team 8. Downtrodden, she looked as if she hadn't slept in several days. He could tell this mission was weighing heavily on her mind, no doubt causing her to question herself as a kunoichi.

Straightening himself and pushing his worry for the young genin to the side, for now, he turned to address the other occupant in front of his desk. A middle-aged man, his dark hair short and showing early signs of greying. Wearing hospital issue garments and a doctor's coat, this was the head of Konoha's shinobi hospital.

"What is the young ones' condition at this time, Yoto-sensei?" He asked quietly, his query causing the woman's head to immediately face the doctor in question.

Despite the troubled look on his leader's face and the disheveled appearance of the kunoichi next to him, the doctor did his best to hold an air of professionalism as he answered the question. Flipping open a small file he had brought with him for this meeting, he began in a calm voice.

"Hyuga-sama suffered some significant damage to her eyes and ears from her opponent's jutsu. However, she has recovered well with the application of the _Healing Palm _Technique, as well as her own clan's methods of assisting in ocular care."

Such was the needs of a clan whose livelihood was so dependent on their eyes, they had developed highly effective ways to aid in the repair of damage or other wounds to the eye or nerves around them, "I believe she should regain full use of her senses without any noticeable decrease in hearing or sight within a few days."

"Next would be Nara-san, he suffered extensive blunt force trauma to his sternum. The force was great enough to crack the sternum and break 4 of his ribs. Unfortunately, his impact after the flight from the blow had dislocated his left knee and had caused the shards of his broken ribs to dangerously press against his internal organs. Luckily, he was treated well enough to prevent lasting damage until he could reach Konoha. I believe he will be capable of full recovery in a few weeks with repeated healing sessions."

The two shinobi let out a quiet breath at the news so far, some hope given despite the situation.

"Then we have young Uzumaki-san," The doctor didn't so much as twitch an eyebrow at the boy's name, his professionalism working to ensure he treated all his patients equally, "He was stabbed deep in his right upper torso, causing some minor laceration in the upper lobe of his lung. Along with this, his next most pressing wound would be to his head, the boy suffered an incredible hit to the back of his skull. It caused severe bruising and gave him a pretty intense concussion as well. He also presented with several deep bruising and lacerations along his arms and chest.

"He has healed considerably over the last few days, use of healing jutsu and other medicine have reduced his danger for the time being. Though his progress is astonishing, I recommend he stay for the remainder of the week to ensure no unforeseen trouble occurring. After that, he should be placed on light duty along with Nara-san until they have recovered properly."

With the aid of the Biju inside him, Naruto was healing at speeds magnitudes higher than the average person. Even with the assistance of medical ninjutsu, such wounds would put many shinobi out of commission for months if not permanently. As such, he wanted the boy kept in the hospital for a while to ensure he was healed properly.

"Most pressing, however, is Aburame-san. The boy suffered extreme damage caused by a Raiton jutsu, as well as an almost total loss of his hive." That gave the other two pause, looks of dread on their face at the news.

An Aburame without their hive was knocking on death's door. Such was the intense link between man and insect in that clan that their own bodies had adapted to easily allow the insects to assume some of their bodily functions. The people of the clan had simply _adapted_ to such a state over generations.

Kurenai looked down at the news, she was truly worried about Shino more than the others. Not only had he received the most damage, but he was also in a much more precarious situation then they were as well.

"I also have a report of the events that transpired upon transport back to the village," he let out a saddened sigh at this, "Aburame-san suffered a cardiac event shortly after transportation had begun back towards Konoha. Though he had been revived, he was without oxygen being supplied to his brain for several minutes. This combined with the shock of the loss of his hive has left the boy in a comatose state.

"The prognosis isn't positive. The Aburame clan has arrived with backup chakra beetles and a new queen to introduce to the boy's system, but we really have no way of knowing what kind of damage may have occurred because of this loss of oxygen. We have done all we can to help alleviate the nerve and tissue damage he had received. For now, all we can do is make him comfortable and wait."

The two men respectfully ignored the jonin's shaking shoulders and allowed her a moment to express her grief at the situation. Sarutobi himself felt a pang of deep sadness as he heard of what had happened to the young children he had sent off on this C-Rank mission only a handful of days ago. Tilting his head forward to hide his expression with his hat, he once more contemplated the choices he had made while he thought over the circumstances of the mission.

"Thank you, Yoto-sensei. You may return to the hospital now." At the dismissal, the doctor stood and gave both the shinobi a respectful bow before he left the room.

Sitting in silence for a few minutes, the third Hokage moved from his chair to stand before the large windows at the back of his office. Gazing at the bright morning day blooming in front of him he felt almost cheated that the weather hadn't soured at this turn of events. A young boy was struggling for his life not 2 blocks away and the sun had the audacity to shine as if all was right in the world.

Turning around he looked back at the distraught jonin, seeing her calmed down and once more at ease. She was looking towards him with a sense of resolution. It was almost as if she was expecting him to begin to berate her or have her hauled off for punishment.

'_I can't punish you for having bad luck, Kurenai-san. No matter how much you think you deserve it',_ he thought sadly as he returned to his seat.

"Be at ease, Kurenai-san. You did everything you could to keep the children and your clients safe. There was no way of knowing you had garnered the attention of such a powerful missing-nin."

The woman relaxed slightly at his words, understanding that the situation wasn't truly her fault but feeling responsible, nevertheless.

"I know Hokage-sama, but I still feel…" the woman trailed off, yet the man understood fully what she meant.

He had felt the same long ago when his sensei had sacrificed himself for his team. The feeling of helplessness when your precious comrades were in danger, unable to help or protect them even if you were capable of it. Every shinobi would feel this way, multiple times in their career.

It was the type of feeling that ruined many a great shinobi before their time.

"For now, you should head home and rest Kurenai. Clean yourself up and get something to eat and sleep, the med-nins are doing everything they can to help your team. I assure you that if anything happens, I will send someone to inform you."

Nodding hesitantly at her leader's words, Kurenai stood up and gave him a bow. Quietly leaving the office, she headed off to heed the aged Hokage's words. Just a quick bite to eat, shower, and a nap, then she'd head back to check on her team. She wasn't going to abandon them in their time of need.

Waiting a few moments after the departure of the jonin, the Hokage turned to his side and made a motion with his hand. Appearing from the shadows of his office was a cloaked individual with a porcelain animal mask on. The rounded features and colored marking displayed a canine of some sort, the figure's dark purple hair being the only outstanding feature one could make out.

"Anything to report on the remains found at the outpost?" Hiruzen questioned quietly.

Pulling a small stack of papers in a folder from their robes, the ANBU agent placed them on their leader's desk and began their report.

"Using Doton jutsu to sift through the rubble, we were able to find most of the remains of the manufactured Chakra Mutations that the stationed shinobi and Team 8's leader had fought against. Our research division is currently breaking down the augmentations and alterations made to their bodies. They expect results before the week is out."

The Hokage let out a quiet hum at the news, before asking another question, "The investigation on the identity of the rogue shinobi and his whereabouts?"

"Searching through the battlefield, we have found numerous custom-designed kunai. We were able to match these unique weapons to one 'Machii no Raijin'. A-rank missing ninja from Kumogakure, he was one of their rising stars a few years ago before he ended up offending the Daimyo of Lightning. He was blacklisted and went into hiding for the past 2 years. Previous reports put him anywhere from southern Hi no Kuni all the way to the badlands west of Kaze no Kuni (Land of Wind). It was alarming to learn he had been contracted by a shadow organization, we have people assigned to look into this more."

The aged kage thought on the report some more, allowing his subordinate to continue after some time while he read through the information gathered so far.

Judging the situation purely on the events, much less the shocking news of a highly organized criminal syndicate hidden in the middle of his country, he would have to say this mission had gone from a C-Rank escort to a High A-rank Combat and Survival mission. Even S-rank was a possibility given the power of the man they faced, the elite A-rank jonin Machii was quite powerful and more than strong enough to begin to encroach on borderline S-rank threat levels.

Looking out the window of his office, the old man made sure to plan a visit to the team when they awoke. He wanted to ensure they were alright after such trauma.

**XxXxXxX**

_Konoha's Hospital_

_That night_

In the quiet hours of the night, a young boy's eyes opened for the first time in days. Groggily sending his gaze around the room, he tried to figure out where he was. Spotting the uniform whiteness of the room, along with the strong smell of sanitization, it hadn't taken him long to come to a conclusion.

"…Hospital, huh…?" He whispered through dry, cracked lips.

Letting out a cough, he looked to his side to see a pitcher of water on a table. Weakly reaching out to it, he was mildly surprised when the shadows of his room coalesced together to pour and give him a glass of water.

_Awake at last…._

_Very thankful…_

_How do you feel…?_

Taking the glass happily, young Naruto looked to the figures around the room as he sipped the cool liquid.

"Feels like I got tossed into a garbage disposal full of rocks, but I'm alive. I guess that counts for something, right?" He remarked after a moment. The shadows responded positively at his statement, pulling the room into even more darkness as the boy watched many figures shift around the room in concern for him.

Though his eye was covered under a bundle of bandages, he could still shift its gaze through the shadows on his face to see just how many of the Clan had come to see him. Much more than the half dozen or so he had accompanied him the last few weeks, it was akin to nearly 2 dozen now. He hadn't seen so many since the night he had signed the contract with the King so long ago.

Setting his glass down with some assistance from the shades near him, Naruto took some time to take stock of his situation. Thick bandages were wrapped around his head, which felt very tender and kind of soft on the back of. Pressing his fingertips gingerly into the back of his scalp, he shuddered when he felt them dip in slightly to the heavily bruised skin.

'_Kami that feels gross, like pudding or something under my skin.' _Sticking out his tongue at the queasy feeling it gave him, he moved on to his chest. Checking the bandages there he felt his wound and experimentally bent his torso.

He regretted it almost immediately as his side painfully protested at the movement and he lost his breath from the pain. Letting out a strangled grunt of pain as the shadows clambered around him, he waved them off as he fully sat back once more. Now at ease on his bed, he tried to think of everything he could remember from the fight and the events after it.

'_The whole building was coming down; how did we make it out?' _He thought idly, momentarily trying to think of what happened before he lost consciousness. Thinking back on the event in question, he tried to remember anything else important.

"_If only you had simply let sleeping dogs lie, none of this would have happened…"_ the words of Machii rang out suddenly in his mind.

Staring down at his legs, his fists balled up as numerous emotions ran through him as he remembered the cause for the entire ordeal. Anger at the enemy for hurting his comrades, sadness that he had been the reason for it all, fear for the conditions of those hurt by the attack.

Worst of all was the feeling of utter helplessness coursing through him, something he hadn't felt in several years.

"it's all my fault…", slowly his eye teared up as he went thought the fight again in his mind. "… I just had to get that file… we could have left no problem… everyone got hurt because of me."

Closing his eye fitfully, the boy tried to stop the flow of tears as he remembered the damage done to his team. All of them were hurt because of his choice, plus so many of the outpost shinobi were hurt too.

Some were even killed….

The boy's shoulders began to shake as the reality of the situation started to crash down around him. Around him the shadows sat in silence as the boy quietly cried over his feelings, wishing to help him but being unable to comfort the boy as he sobbed silently. As the boy lamented over his situation, he failed to notice a figure slowly move towards him from the shadows.

His breath hitched in his throat when he felt a solid hand gently grasp his shoulder. Looking to his left to find out who it was, he was shocked to see the King of the Shadows knelt beside his bed. Such was the height of the King that he was still looking up despite the being kneeling beside him, a sympathetic look in his helmeted eyes.

"K-King…? When did you get here…?" the boy muttered out quietly, feeling slightly ashamed of crying in front of the Shadow King.

_Be at ease, young Shade…_

_You and yours have survived this battle…._

_Take solace in that fact…_

Slowly removing his hand, the King once more stood at his full height. Moving to the foot of the boy's bed, he regarded him with an inspecting eye. Looking over the wounds the child had, he made a judgment on what he had been told by the shades who were with the boy that battle.

_You fought well, despite the strength of your opponent…_

_You make the clan proud, young Shade…_

This simple statement caused the boy to blush in embarrassment of the praise and nervously scratch at the side of his head as he looked away.

"T-thanks, but I don't think I did that well. My friends got destroyed before I could do anything…." Sobering himself a little at the news, he suddenly widened his eyes as he looked back at the King.

"My friends! How are they? Is everyone ok?" his frantic questioning was met with the raised hand of the King.

_Calm thyself, young shade…._

_Allow me to explain what has happened to your team…_

The King quietly explained everything to the young boy. His friends were currently alive and recovering from the battle. Naruto's uplifted face was soon destroyed at the news of Shino's condition, however. Looking down at his bed sheets once more, the boy gained a saddened look on his face as he worried about the state of his quiet friend.

A thought suddenly came up to the boy, looking back towards the patiently waiting King he asked something that had been bugging him.

"How did we get out? The outpost was collapsing, and I couldn't escape on my own…"

At this the King's eyes glowed slightly, his eyes taking a rather entertained look as he began to speak once more.

_You are never alone, young shade…_

**xXxXxXx**

_Hi no Kuni_

_That Day_

The Shadow Clan's King had been moving through the land of Hi no Kuni, inspecting the territory he had while making his way towards the latest of the Clan's contract holders. He was looking forward to checking the youth's progress, reports from the shades that kept the boy company having filled him with confidence at the boy's capabilities. He was nearing the village of Konoha when he received extreme news from one of the shades nearby.

Naruto and his team were in danger, and they needed support.

Feeling his power flow through him, the King vanished from the outskirts of Konoha and reappeared from the shadows of the outpost minutes later. Momentarily watching the battle blazing out in front, he was satisfied with the strength of the boy's shadow beasts.

The wolf was fighting valiantly alongside the sensei of Naruto's team. Being supported by the newest addition to the boy's army, the shadow falcon and its incredible speed and durability, he had no reason to step in here. Distracted by the sudden appearance of a large tail from some creature, the King saw what appeared to be a massive snake slither back underground.

Frowning as he saw the situation change to a standoff, he realized what was happening beneath the outpost nearby. The additional shadows being created by the burrowing of the snake was about to destroy the integrity of the buildings and bring them all down. Reaching this conclusion quickly, the King vanished once more to enter the outpost.

Stumbling slightly as the ground shifted suddenly beneath him, he moved to the room that Naruto and his team were in. Arriving to hear the near-silent pleas of his contract holder, the King's eyes glowed a fierce blue.

_Help has arrived young shade…_

He spoke quietly, his power bringing the inert shadows shooting up to hold the collapsing roof in place. Beside him two massive Shadow Golems appeared, each stood over 10 feet tall and were built as if small mountains had been given life. Using their tree trunk-like arms, they held the collapsing ceiling up momentarily as other smaller shades manifested to pull Team 8 and their clients out of the room.

Arriving outside with the unconscious forms of the group, the King watched as each of the shades set them down. Quickly looking over the group, the King realized the dire straits they young genin were in. He wasn't capable of the necessary medical care needed to stabilize the children.

Kneeling beside the prone Naruto, he lightly set his palm on the boy's chest, a purple light appeared in his hand after a few moments. Only one shadow user could have the ability of _Shadow Extraction_ at a time. No one else could use the ability while the boy lived, but the King was an… exception to the rule. He was able to temporarily borrow the ability and use it for a few minutes at a time.

Looking back at the outpost, he could see the Shadow Golems slowly begin to struggle with the building, realizing he had to work quickly to help the children. His momentary viewing of the battlefield told him there was no medic present, though there was a reason to believe one would be stationed in an outpost such as this. Thus, there was no doubt one had been killed or otherwise neutralized before the battle had even begun.

Closing his eyes, he expanded his senses to find anyone capable of helping with the situation. It hadn't taken long for the King to sense the fallen energy of the outpost's shinobi.

Vanishing through the darkness once more, he arrived at the location he felt to spot nearly half a dozen corpses of various Konoha shinobi tossed about a small clearing. It seemed that they had been ambushed by surprise and left to rot here, given the lack of self-defense wounds present on their bodies. Checking over their forms, he spotted one with the telltale symbol of the Medic Corp. of Konohagakure.

Holding his glowing palm towards the body, he spoke the command that activated the technique.

_**Arise…**_

The shadows concealed the body for a few moments as eerie cries and screams could be heard around the darkened woods. From the congealed shadows burst the hands of the shinobi's shadow. Pulling himself up, the shadow soldier stood at attention before the Shadow King, awaiting his command.

Unlike the shadow beasts, the former shinobi had not gained immense size or bulk upon his revival. Instead, his form had turned pitch black, his skin obtaining a darker blue glow to it as his clothes took on a more armored appearance. Bright blue lights signified his eyes, with the same light shining from his open mouth.

The King quickly led the newly arisen soldier back to the prone forms of Team 8 and their clients. Ordering the medic to begin working on the group, the King looked about the trees around them in interest as the green glow of the medic's hands lit up the clearing. He could still sense something nearby; its killing intent easily being felt and almost palpable in the air of the woods behind the outpost.

Walking some feet away from the group, the King stood at ease as he felt out the location of the threat to the kids. A few moments later he spotted the subtle shifting of dirt in front of him, moving quick he blurred to the spot and easily buried his arm into the earth. Feeling the squirming creature in his grip, he pulled with mighty strength and ripped the massive snake from the ground.

Shocked at its sudden change in surroundings, the snake sat in place with a dazed look on its reptilian face. Spotting the source of the reason it was removed from the safety of the earth, the massive beast bared its fangs threateningly and moved with near lightning quickness. The King regarded the beast for only a moment before his form vanished entirely from view.

Seconds later the mighty snake fell to the ground, its mouth still wide open with a fierce look on its face as the head continued to roll away from its body. Appearing beside the downed mutation, the King stood rather regally, an impressive longsword now in his hands as he looked at the deceased beast.

_Much too slow…_

He remarked to himself, rather disappointed with the anticlimactic fight. Walking back to the group he checked on the progress the medic shadow soldier had made so far. Seeing the fresh bandages around the Uzumaki and Aburame, the King nodded in satisfaction at the shadow soldier's work.

_Building collapsing…_

_Enemy escaping…._

Looking up at the building, he saw the Golems vanish into the darkness, no longer able to give the King time to stay hidden from the shinobi out front. Focusing his senses once more on the combatants a distance away, he could feel one in particular rapidly running off to the east. Taking a moment to think about the situation, the King nodded to himself.

_Stay and heal them, leave if anyone shows up…_

_I'm going after the man who caused this…_

Heeding the King's order, the medic shadow nodded dutifully, resuming his work as the King vanished from sight.

It had taken the King only a few minutes to catch up to the running nuke-nin, appearing from the shadows in front of his fleeing form. Shocked by the sudden arrival of a new opponent, Machii had to kick off the side of a tree to avoid running directly into the form of the armored shadow.

"What the hell? Where did you come from?" He questioned, now standing on a tree branch some feet opposite of the King.

No words were spoken from the shadowy being, only the faint sound of a sword being drawn from its scabbard as the King took a combat stance. Understanding this wasn't a friendly meeting, Machii quickly pulled out two kunai to ready himself in a dual-wielding stance. He quietly analyzed his opponent as he tried to gauge his chances of winning the fight.

The sheer aura of power he could feel from the shadow was more than enough to give the man pause, having never felt such incredible pressure from anyone short of the Raikage himself. Though his unusual armor leads him to believe that his opponent wouldn't be as fast as him, he was loathe to underestimate someone undeniably strong.

Pushing Raiton chakra through his kunai, he decided this must be another summons from the blonde genin from before. No doubt he would easily be able to cut through its form and make his escape before the creature could reform. Appearing in front of the shadow, he swung both kunai at the being's body. One towards its face, while the other went into its stomach, he ensured that his opponent would take some kind of damage after this attack.

He was surprised when his shadowy opponent skillfully twisted his sword and blocked both attacks in a single smooth motion. Machii was sent back with a slight stumble from the surprise move, the King took advantage of his loss of balance and rapidly swung his sword at the rogue shinobi.

The two exchanged blows, Machii swinging his kunai in powerful quick arcs, leaving trails of electricity that flared out around him. Each attack seemed to bounce off the weapon of the Shadow King, his blade cutting through the shinobi's techniques as if they were nothing. Crossing his kunai at an overhead slash from the shadow, Machii was once more held in place as he locked blades with the King. The shadow King calmly adjusted his grip on his blade, giving the shinobi no chance to reassert his control on the fight and prepared to land a critical blow against him. By suddenly twisting his blade once more, the locked weapons slid past each other. The sharp edge of the King's sword bit into the rogue shinobi's shoulder as he deftly rolled away from the near beheading.

Machii frowned as he thought through a plan to defeat be as they continued the fight. The King was taking advantage of the short reach of his kunai, landing glancing blows when Machii failed to move fast enough to dodge. Thinking quick as he dodged back from a wide sweep of the deadly longsword, Machii prepared his chakra for a surprise attack. Locking blades with the King once more, the shinobi took a step back and disrupted the Shadow warrior's balance.

Surprised by the turn of events, the King stumbled forward as his opponent spun around him to strike from behind. Pushing his chakra through his blades, electricity pulsed through his weapons to form extended sabers of Raiton chakra. He let loose a victorious smirk as he sank his weapons in the King's back.

His smirk fell from his face as the shadows themselves seemed to billow off the man's armor, his blades passing through the inky darkness without leaving a mark on the King. Now off balance from the impromptu attack's miss, Machii could only watch in shock and abject horror as the Shadow King's sword carved a deep gash across his chest. Pressing on his newfound advantage, the King let loose a flurry of blows on the rogue shinobi's defenses.

Wide-eyed at the swordsmanship the shadow creature used, it was all Machii could do to prevent the sword from cutting him to pieces. Feeling the blade bite deep through his flak armor once more, he stumbled back as the blood began to flow from him in decent amounts. Throwing up his kunai as meager defenses, he took a step back as each blow sent out a ringing chime around the clearing they fought. Each crash of the blade against his kunai sent sparks flying until eventually one blade was cut clean through and the other was knocked clean from his grip by the might blows.

Holding his side from a fresh gash from his opponent, Machii narrowed his eyes at his opponent as his mind went through plan after plan in an attempt to escape the fight. With his back against a tree and no weapons to his defense, he wasn't too optimistic about his chances. _'How is he so damn strong? It like every move has the force of a dozen men behind it.', _he couldn't fathom someone so easily handling him in a fight as was happening now.

Pointing his sword at the ninja's throat, the King offered him a parting statement.

_Any last words, human…?_

The quiet, eerie whispers of the Shadow King echoed out around the man, sending shivers down his spine as his eyes met his opponent's glowing blue gaze. Unconsciously gulping down some nervous saliva, Machii subtly began to manipulate his chakra as he spoke out quietly.

"What are you?"

_Does it matter to a dead man…?_

"… I suppose not. But why are you doing this, there's no way that brat is alive. How are you

here?" he was grasping at straws at this point, trying to buy some time while he worked on his last-ditch effort for the fight.

The King seemed to tilt his head slightly, looking somewhat quizzical as he stared the shinobi down. The edge of his pitch-black longsword gleamed in the morning light, inviting the man to gaze on its razor edge in nervousness once more.

_I am no mere summons, human…_

_I am much more than that…._

The King soon concentrated his powerfully dark energy through his blade, causing the slowly brightening clearing to become shrouded in darkness. His blade lost all reflection, a shifting sound heard as the shadows themselves coalesced on the blade, storing up incredible pressure for the final attack of the battle.

_Farewell human…_

_Now, embrace the darkness…_

With his parting words, he unleashed his attack, a wide sweep that sent the black energy of the shadows careening towards the shinobi at nigh-untraceable speeds.

A brief flash of fear flooded through the rogue shinobi as he activated his final move, his chakra exploding from his body in every direction. The massive burst of chakra sent out dozens if not hundreds of arcs of electricity. The light was blinding, blocking the King's view as he sent forth his attack.

When the light faded, all that could be seen in front of the King was a destroyed landscape. The remains of his technique, along with the aftermath of whatever Machii had done in his final moments.

Glancing about the destroyed clearing, the King's gaze landed on the smoking crater that remained some feet away. While he wasn't entirely sure what Machii had done, it seemed to have proven fruitless in the onslaught of his power. The ground was blackened and the smell of ozone permeated the area, it certainly remained a testament to the power of the techniques used in the final clash.

Satisfied with his inspection of the desolate battlefield, the King calmly walked away. Entering the shadows of the nearby grove, his voice quietly rang out a farewell for the opponent he had fought to the death.

_Requiescat in Pace…_

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto was reeling a bit after the King finished his tale. Moving his gaze from the King's imposing form to the far wall, the boy's mind was spinning with all he had learned. Taking a few minutes to reaffirm himself he turned back to the King with a questioning look.

What does 'resquat in patch' mean?" he asked quietly, his head tilted to the side rather endearingly.

His response wasn't expected, the King began to laugh rather merrily. The quiet, echoing sounds of his entertainment sounded out in the room. He looked at the boy with relaxed eyes.

_Requiescat in Pace, young shade…_

_A language long dead to this world…._

_It roughly translates to 'rest in peace'…._

_We utter it as a sign of respect for our fallen opponents…_

"I see…" the boy muttered to himself quietly, before looking up at the King once more.

"Thank you for saving us. I'm not sure if we would have survived without you showing up." Bowing his head as best he could in his damaged, bedridden shape.

The King nodded his head in turn,

_Think nothing of it, young shade…_

_You are of my clan now; you need only ask, and we shall come to your aid…_

Around the room the other numerous shadows gave out their quiet assurances, letting the young genin know he had help whenever he needed it. Naruto took in their support gratefully, wholly unused to being able to rely on others. The realization seemed to give him a measure of peace, his shoulders sagging as he relaxed deeper in his bed. His eye fluttered for a moment as he stifled a yawn, seeing this the King signaled to the rest of his kin.

Many soon left as the boy began to fall asleep, leaving only a few shades and the King left behind as they watched over his resting form. Reaching into the shadows beside him, the King pulled out a small cylinder. Looking much like the handle of a sword without the guard, it was quite the unassuming item that he left on the boy's bed.

_A gift from me to you, young shade…._

_Use it well…._

The gift slowly sank into the boy's shadow, the telltale glow of his shadow beast's eyes signifying who had pulled it in. Bidding the beasts and his kin farewell, the King left the room. When Naruto was released, he would come back to teach him about what he had gifted him, for now, he'd let him puzzle it out on his own.

Who knows, maybe the boy will surprise him once again?

**XxXxXxX**

Kurenai had visited him the next morning after his talk with the King. Cheerful crying was not what he expected alongside breakfast that morning, but he was more than happy to spend the morning with the relieved jonin.

He learned more details on the rest of their team, their wounds and recovery times. Though he shared Kurenai's apprehension about Shino's condition, he remained positive. If there was anyone who could live through that, it would be Shino. He had a quiet strength to him, a semblance of something that made him feel as if the quiet boy was going to pull through.

The next afternoon had Kurenai accompanied by the Hokage, the elderly man more than happy to see the awake, if somewhat bored, face of his favorite genin. Though the visit wasn't all merriment and happiness. At the Sandaime's request, Naruto got into his report on the battle at the outpost.

"-I managed to blow up the clone at the end, after that, I got thrown into a wall and knocked out while the building came down and that's all I remember." The genin finished his report as well he could, Kurenai beside him writing it down for the collaborative report she was making with the other genin that had awoken.

The Hokage stroked his goatee in thought as he digested the new information. The rest of team 8 had been neutralized quite soon into the battle with the rogue ninja's clones. They hadn't had much to say about the situation other than the preparations they had done and what they thought of the clones who had taken them out.

"You did well to defeat the clone, Naruto-kun." The leader said, at last, favoring the boy with a proud smile, "Machii is a powerful shinobi, defeating his clone in combat stands a testament to your training since making genin."

Naruto smiled bashfully at the praise, his head turning to the side as a small blush graced his whiskered cheeks. As he scratched his eyepatch in bashful reticence, he missed the change in the demeanor of the Third.

Sharing a glance with the jonin next to him, they both realized something was missing from the boy's report. The mysterious individual who had expertly stabilized the fallen team, likely the one who had pulled them out of the collapsing outpost as well. The aged leader took a few moments to think over the situation, idly wondering over the importance of the information.

On one hand, the description of the disappearing individual indicated that it was likely one of the Shadow clan. There was little doubt in his mind on that. Meanwhile, on the other hand, the individual in question had done a superb job in stabilizing the genin. With them helping the team, the children's chances of survival had shot up dramatically.

There wasn't any pressing need for the boy to tell them, he may not even be able to reveal it as well. Given he was probably unconscious during the rescue, it was unlikely Naruto could tell them anything more than they already could guess at.

Naruto was fidgeting faintly as he looked at his leader and sensei. He wasn't sure about sharing what the King had told him. It would have meant revealing he could revive the dead, bringing back any shinobi to serve him as a shadow soldier.

Such a power would be highly coveted by many people. Many _unscrupulous _people, who no doubt would gladly try to take advantage of him and his power.

He definitely didn't want that.

The Hokage regarded the boy with a thoughtful look for a few moments, apparently thinking over something. Nodding to himself slightly, he stood up and spoke once more.

"Very well, that's enough for today Naruto-kun. If there's anything you can think of or remember later, feel free to come by my office to report it." He smiled at the boy, waving farewell as he left the hospital room.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief, watching as the old Hokage left his room. A short chat later and Kurenai excused herself as well, deigning to head out to check on the other genin. Left alone once more, the boy thought about what he wanted to work on in the future.

'_I need to get faster… I couldn't even react to anything that bastard threw at me.' _He reflected on his memories of the vague blur that was Machii, just moments before he was run through by the man's kunai. He couldn't even believe someone could get so fast, Machii was on a whole different level than anyone he had ever seen.

Sighing once more to himself, the boy settled back into his bed and resigned himself to bedrest once more. He was stuck here for several more days, he may as well sleep to make time go by. His eyes closed as the afternoon sun dipped below the horizon, another day coming to an end after the horrible mission gone wrong.

**XxXxXxX**

**There we have my oh so patient readers, the aftermath and results of sorts for Team 8. Life moves on, will Naruto?**

**He's got some growing to do, but for now, he needs to heal. Next time we'll see him leave the hospital and dive into training, meeting an unlikely friend, and getting his foundation as a shinobi started in earnest.**

**Look forward to it, won't ya?**

**The next one will be out in a bit, preferably not as long a wait as this one.**

…**I hope…**

**Still sorry about the wait.**

**Review, if you please and I'll see you guys next time.**


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